Ben Orkin



About

Ben Orkin is a sculptor based in Cape Town, South Africa. His ceramic vessels reflect queer intimacy, oscillating between moments of nourishment and dependency, validation and resistance, love and separation. Their textured finish is evidence of the hand-builder’s careful touch, imbuing the sculptures with a sense of the tactile and, at times, the erotic.

Orkin graduated in 2021 with a BFA from Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2019 he held his first solo presentation, You told me… and in 2021 he held his last solo exhibition Extra Safe with WHATIFTHEWORLD. He was awarded the Simon Gerson prize in 2021. His work has been recently acquired by the A4 Foundation.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2021 Extra Safe - WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town
2019 You told me... - WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town

Selected Group Exhibitions

2022 Seeds of the Fig - Twee Jonge Gezellen Wine Estate, Krone x WHATIFTHEWORLD, Tulbagh, South Africa
2021 RESTUDIO, Cunningham Contemporary, Johannesburg
2020 Shaping Things, SMAC Gallery, Stellenbosch
Art Rotterdam, Nuweland, The Netherlands