Menu

Ben Frost

Born

1945 Australian

Biography/General

Sydney artist Ben Frost is most well known for his confronting and often controversial Pop Art paintings. Using a ‘collage’ style of unlikely juxtapositions, his dynamic paintings are complex mash-ups of popular culture that savagely critique our media and advertising obsessed society. His painting 'White Children Playing; Late 1900's' was deemed too controversial for some for its graphic depiction of children shooting-up drugs, and was debated recently on the channel 7 Sunrise program. His now infamous 2000 exhibition and art prank ‘Ben Frost is Dead’ saw him fake his own death and was branded ‘tasteless’ when the art world and national media actually believed his demise. Police have threatened to close every exhibition his 12m long collaborative painting ‘Where Do You Want to Go Today’ has been exhibited and a disgruntled viewer went so far as to slash one of the paintings with a knife in reaction to the confronting imagery. Ben was an invited artist at the 2002 'Primavera' exhibition at the Sydney MCA , and more recently at galleries such as: 798 Space in Beijing,The Arm in New York, White Walls in San Francisco, Cosh Gallery in London and Studio Apart in Amsterdam. Ben’s work has appeared in countless magazines and newspapers including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Australian Art Collector, Empty, Monster Children, and the Sydney Morning Herald and was a contributing illustrator for over 3 years to Black + White Magazine.

Education

1996 - Bachelor of Visual Art in Fine Art, Queensland College of Art

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions 2008 Crapitalism, Dray Walk Gallery, The Old Truman Brewery, London,?Ben Frost, Opus Gallery, Newcastle, UK?2007 Spoon Full of Sugar, Wasteland Gallery, Perth, At Your Convenience, Stussy Walls, San Francisco Cash From Chaos, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney Dawn of the Dead, Autopsy Gallery, Melbourne 2006 Don't Try This At Home, The Arm Gallery, New York New Gods, Blank Space, Sydney Kmart After Dark, Black Lab Gallery, Brisbane 2005 Rainbows End, Helen Gory Gallery, Melbourne As Seen on TV, Blankspace, Surry Hills, Sydney 2003 Rules of Engagement, Savage, Darlinghurst, Sydney , Gentlemen Take Polaroids, Croft Institute, Chinatown, Melbourne Stumble Then Rise on Some Awkward Morning, Farmspace, George St, Brisbane 2002 Westworld, Gamma Space, Flinders Lane, Melbourne 2001 Degenerate, Revolver, Chapel St, Prahran New Work, Mansour Galleries, Latrobe St, Melbourne 2000Ben Frost is Dead, Modus Studios, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane

Selected Group Exhibitions 2008 Trailblazers, Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney, Art London, Kounter Kulture Art Fair, London 2007 Let's Play Until We Break Something, Studio Apart, Amsterdam That's All Folks!, Cosh Gallery, London Tiger Translate, 798 Space, Beijing, China All Star Hustlaz II, White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, USA Finders Keepers, Monster Children Gallery, Sydney 12 x 12, Ambush Gallery, Sydney Indefinable Cities, Airspace Gallery, Stoke On Trent, UKGAS 07, Global Gallery, Sydney 2006 All Star Hustlaz, White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, USA Duck Fever, Mercadodelborne, Barcelona, Spain Cross Sections, Rex Livingston Smith Gallery, Sydney Swap Meat, Brightspace, Melbourne Sold Out, White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, USA Blank Generation, Blank Space, Sydney 2005 The Art on Canvas Show, Monster Children, Sydney Chart Topping Machine, Blank Space, Surry Hills, Sydney Pearl, Dantes Gallery, Gertrude St, Melbourne Missing Things Tomorrow, Swanston St, Melbourne Basefield, Chapel on Chapel, Melbourne 2004 Role Models, Forest One Gallery, Adelaide International Underground, Haight Ashbury, San Francisco Trash Dandy, Ef Gallery, Asakusa, Tokyo Use Again Exhibition, Belgium Thoughtcrimez, Antenna Gallery, Toronto Canada2003 Ugly Faux, Citylights, Melbourne White Lies Beneath, Helen Gory Gallerie, Melbourne Antipoda, Artillery Space, Melbourne Birds of a Feather, Gallery Wren, Sydney Basefield - The Great Divide, Chapel on Chapel, Melbourne Guerilla Gorilla, George Gallery, Melbourne The Empty Show, Williamstown, Melbourne 2002 When I Was Young: Impressions of Childhood in Australian Art, Global Arts Link, Ipswich Primavera, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney Product, Span Galleries, Melbourne Money Shot, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Adelaide 2001 Gene Pool, Modus Studios, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane (curated)171 (ii), Mansour Galleries, Latrobe St, Melbourne Get it On, Modus Studios, Modus Studios, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane Strictly Commercial, Modus Studios, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane 2000 Colossus, Institute of Modern Art, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane The Stars Shine Bright, Logan City Art Gallery, Logan Great Australian Painters of the 21st Century, Modus Studios, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane 1999 The End of the World, Satellite Art Space, Cameron House, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane (curated) Poison, Metro Arts Gallery, Brisbane Brisbane Art Director's Charity Auction, Riverside Centre Building Foyer, Brisbane VIP/Backstage Exhibition, 1999 Livid Festival, RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane Word, Lovett Regional Gallery, Newcastle, NSW 1998 Big/Small Gallery, National Institute of Education, Singapore From A to M and Back Again, Carbon Studios, Brisbane Fake Plastic Trees, Smith and Stoneley, Newstead, Brisbane Chemical Marriage, Process Gallery, Brisbane 1997 Piss Christmas, Process Gallery, Brisbane Gold/Frankincense/Myrrh, Smith and St oneley, Newstead, Brisbane Boy's Own, Process Gallery, Brisbane Conrad Jupiter's Art Prize, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Gold Coast New Works, Grunt Gallery, Brisbane13 Artists, Montville, Queensland 1996 End of Year Clearance, Institute of Modern Art, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane Solitary Confinement, Boggo Road Gaol, Dutton Park, Brisbane Attention Deficit Disorder, Van Gogh's Earlobe, Brisbane Starving Artist, Paint Factory, West End Drawing is …. Eagle St Pier Magazine Space, Brisbane

Performance Art 2007 Destroy, Beach Road Hotel, Sydney 2006 Celebrity Wheel of Torture, Elsewhere, Gold Coast, Queensland 2004The 1981 President Reagan Assassination Attempt - Whitney Young Space, San Francisco The 1981 President Reagan Assassination Attempt -Ef Gallery, Asakusa, Tokyo Abikyokan Live - Kinschicho, Tokyo 2003 Untitled Bleeding Man - Project to Give Birth to Robot Puppies - Kinschicho, Tokyo 1999 Oprah Eats Dog Biscuit, Ric's Café, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane Project To Pour Cordial Into the Sea, University of Qld, Brisbane, with David Campbell 1998 Live Sex, QUT, Brisbane, with John Peters Stop Bio-Peep, Queen St Mall, Brisbane with Joey Skaggs and David Campbell 1997 E - Z Rider, Queensland College of Art Gallery, Brisbane with David Campbell. 1996 White Trash, The Zoo, Fortitude Valley. With Daniel Templeman Neon Hate Child 02, QCA Graduate Exhibition Institute Of Modern Art. Anne St. Fortitude Valley.Andy Gilbert and Salvador George, with Axle Conrad, Cavill St. Mall, Gold Coast.Conversations With The Sun : How to Live in Style - Style in Living Rooms, QCA, Brisbane Project to Form a Speech Bubble, Intermedia Installation Space QCA, Brisbane Neon Hate Child, Private Party, Vulture St. West End.Drive Thru, Drive By ( Please Don't Let Me Die in This Little Room Alone), Van Gogh's Earlobe, Brisbane The Death of Shane Parish - Lest We Forget, Q C A Breezeway Revenge Fantasies, with Marnie Dean, Babble - On Niteclub, Elizabeth St. Brisbane 1995 Inhale / Exhale, with Daniel Templeman and Shane Rudkin, Film and TV Dept., QCA, Brisbane,Bitch / Bastard, with Marnie Dean, Anglican Church Hall, Fortitude Valley Tank, Private Party. Annerley Rd. Annerley Punctuated Equilibrium, Private Party, Annerley Rd. Annerley

Collections/Commissions

Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth, WA
Art Bank, NSW
Universal Records, NSW
Private collections throughout Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and the United States

Awards/Grants

1998 Winner Painting Category, Churchie Exhibition of Emerging Art
1997 Winner Painting Category, Churchie Exhibition of Emerging Art
Highly Commended, Artistcare Drawing Prize
1996 Karl & Gertrude Langer Memorial Award for Highest Overall Score, Qld College of Art