Ben Alvers
Mid-Career Fellowship in Visual and Fine Art

Ben’s passion for the ceramic arts is reflected in his artwork as well as his role as Association Art Education Director. The manner in which he manipulates the clay celebrates the better qualities that only clay has. The physicality of clay and the process and timing involved with it are a reflection of Ben’s life as a father, husband, artist, and teacher.  Ben’s career as an artist has been accelerating in the past few years with opportunities to exhibit at national conferences and reputable galleries around the country. His record of exhibition has been consistent over the past several years and this year he looks forward to two solo exhibitions and an invitation to a residency program for two weeks. 

Ben’s role as an artist is contiguous with his role in the Art Education Department at the Lawrence Arts Center. Since arriving he has helped develop a residency program that has had its applications increase ten-fold. He directs a fundraiser that sells hand-made ceramic bowls that has increased from under $4,000 to $10,000. Ben was pivotal in garnering a substantial grant for the Ceramics Studio. In 2007, Ben directed the National Juried Ceramics Exhibition and Symposium and had solo exhibitions.  Both were featured in the international magazine Ceramics Technical. Last fall Ben took on the role of curator by creating the exhibit “Bottles”. This national invitational exhibit featured a review in Art and Perception magazine.

Artist Statement

Ben's art deals with ideas that examine self identity with a focus on personal history. The good, the bad and the ugly from his personal history get exposed. Sarcasm, humor, fear, honesty, dishonesty, and nostalgia are layered in the pieces. Somewhere between the Cobra artists and Walt Disney is where his work can be found. There is a vein of wit and humor, with a backhand of mystery and deviousness that is constant in the work. As a 34-year-old father of three boys, ages 13, 9 and 3, he sees many of the above mentioned descriptions of his art living under one roof with him and his wife. His children aid him in his introspective approach to creating art.

The physical demand of clay was an instantaneous draw for him as an undergraduate student. The immediacy and physicality of clay balanced with timing and repetition feels natural. The figurative quality to his work is the vehicle that drives the intent to convey a sense of self.

The people, places and experiences he's had and yet to meet are feeding his work. The 'headlines' in his life, such as becoming a father for the first time or the death of a family member, to the 'snapshots' of moments like song lyrics or a tool that belonged to his grandfather, all have a place in his work.