Hello
My name is Ben Kusel, and I am a graduate of Indiana University, where I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a concentration in Graphic Design and Computer Graphics, complemented by a minor in Art History.
My Story
My practice encompasses a wide range of media across both digital and traditional formats. I am experienced with Adobe Creative Suite, Rhinoceros 3D, Maya, Canva, Unity, Logic Pro, and film-to-digital workflows. My traditional work includes watercolor, drawing (pencil, pen, conté crayon, charcoal, marker), printmaking, and audio design.
I am deeply interested in uncovering beauty within the ugly and the common. Those overlooked subjects that hold a quiet complexity. Like an old grandma struggling to dispense Dr. Pepper in a broken soda machine. I believe that even the most mundane or distorted forms possess a defense in their beauty, one that only needs to be expanded and magnified to be understood. This dichotomy echoes in Quinten Massys’ The Ugly Duchess, a work that depicts what it self titles as but presented and articulated to provide viewers with awe in its presentation. Through my art, I aim to evoke that same tension. To reveal grace, humor, and truth within what is often dismissed, unseen or average at best.