statement

My works develop as the grey offspring of meditative and compulsive states. Driven by neurotic tendencies, I unpack my obsessions if only to emerge from the experience with a contrary stillness. I embrace the kind of unfolding reality that occurs from direct marks: the physicality of an image, the illusion of space, and through these sediments, a recognition of my impetus. I find myself consistently responding to beauty with beauty; a quiet, contemplative acknowledgment.  

bio

born: 1982, Detroit, Michigan

education:

College for Creative Studies, Detroit,  BFA 2005

selected awards/honors

Honorable Mention, Michigan Annual XXXI, The Art Center, Mt Clemens, MI, 2003
Walter B. Ford II Scholarship, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI, 2000

selected publications

Detroit Metrotimes: Get Fresh. Jacque Liu, July 3, 2007
The Detroiter: This Week in Art: Ben Kiehl at Motor City Brewing Works. Nick Sousanis, May 10, 2006
Real Detroit Weekly: Welcome to the Real World. Ann Gordon, May 25, 2005
The Detroit Free Press: Trio Explore Contemporary Approaches. Keri Guten Cohen, May 4, 2003

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Commonwealth Gallery: Here Comes the Sun, Detroit, MI, 2007
Motor City Brewing Works: When the B Stings, Detroit, MI, 2006
Motor City Brewing Works: Ben Kiehl Tape Drawings, Detroit, MI, 2005
U245 Gallery: Kool-Aid® Mustache; Ben Kiehl & Kyle Knodell, Detroit, MI, 2005

selected group shows

Robert Kidd Gallery: Bods: Rethinking the Figure, Birmingham, MI, 2010
Contemporary Art Institiute of Detroit: Actual Size Biennial: 8 1/2" x 11", Detroit, MI, 2009
Flint Institute of Arts: The Art of Collecting, Flint, MI, 2007
David Klein Gallery: Fresh, Birmingham, MI, 2007