Ben Sklar: Sunshine Milkshake

B en S klar

Sun S hine Milk S hake

B en S klar SunShine MilkShake

o ctobe R 22 - D ecembe R 3, 2022

2143 Westheimer Road Houston, TX 77098 www.foltzgallery.com

Foltz Fine Art presents Ben Sklar: Sunshine Milkshake, featuring photography by Ben Sklar, an editorial, commercial, and fine art photographer currently based in New York City. Sklar was born in Louisiana, but spent most of his life in Austin, Texas. Sklar started his career in photojournalism with freelance commissions from The New York Times, and eventually migrated into editorial work for some of the world’s most prestigious publications. While the demand for his commercial work requires his attention, Sklar’s personal practice focuses on maintaining a distinct artistic vision with a love for film and the alchemy of the darkroom. Sklar’s artistic practice continues to progress alongside an ongoing body of work taken over the past decade.

Sklar’s photographs have a singular thread of commonality – each contains something unexpected, an element that catches the viewer off guard, causing them to pause and allow for personal reflection.  This “punctum,” as defined by French philosopher and critic Roland Barthes in Camera Lucida, repeats throughout Sklar’s work and redirects the viewer back to their own sense of self.  Sklar often uses the quotidian as a source of inspiration. It is in the seemingly small details that he captures with humor, compassion, and at times, detached observation, that the viewer is repeatedly struck, finding or stumbling upon a point of impact or an element of fascination.

Ben Sklar

Ben Sklar (b. 1983, Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a 4th generation artist primarily using lens-based work. He grew up in Austin, Texas where his family relocated to care for his elders in 1993. For good and bad, the artists of his family, William Forsyth, Constance Forsyth, Robert Selby and Charles Sklar, influence his perspective and practice. At 12, he began using disposable cameras to photograph summer boy scout trips, skating and friends performing for the camera. As a high school student, he did photography for the student newspaper and developed his interest in photojournalism going on to work for The Daily Texan newspaper at the University of Texas. At 20, he began working for The New York Times, shooting a fashion piece as his first commission. The following year he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography after shooting iconic images of Hurricane Katrina in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Under the mentorship of Magnum photography Eli Reed, who he compares to a father figure, he learned the power of artistic voice and the greater meaning of living life with your camera, photographing the / your own human experience. After a brief training stint at the Associated Press San Francisco office, it became clear he did not fit into office culture and was more interested in developing his own ideas through his photographic practice. He continued to build a roster of editorial and commercial clients, while almost secretly working in the darkroom printing silver gelatin prints, shooting medium format film, and creative narrative zines and book mockups. In 2016, he left Austin for New York City where he now resides but continues to spend time out in the world photographing what he interests him touring with his friend’s band, dissecting masculinity, or exploring the natural world in Texas, Vermont, and California. He is expanding his practice into hand-painting, bookmaking, gallery exhibitions, creative writing, apparel making, video motion filming, and mixed media work. He believes in living life in the frame, carries a camera every day, and loves to create poetry from the magic of the image.

www.bensklar.com @sklartopia

BenSklar

ArchivalInkjetprint

2143Westheimer Houston,TX77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com

BenSklar

American Dog, Texas (1/10),2013

ArchivalInkjetprint

BenSklar

Frozen Marathon, Texas (2/10),2013

ArchivalInkjetprint

www.foltzgallery.com

BenSklar

BenSklar

Ben

BenSklar

BenSklar

BenSklar

Sand Orange (1/10),2022

ArchivalInkjetprint

BenSklar Sheep Run (1/10),2021 ArchivalInkjetprint 24x30in Framed 29.25x35.75in

BenSklar

BenSklar

BenSklar

Ben Sklar (b. 1983, Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a 4th generation artist primarily using lens-based work. He grew up in Austin, Texas where his family relocated to care for his elders in 1993. For good and bad, the artists of his family, William Forsyth, Constance Forsyth, Robert Selby and Charles Sklar, influence his perspective and practice At 12, he began using disposable cameras to photograph summer boy scout trips, skating and friends performing for the camera. As a high school student, he did photography for the student newspaper and developed hisinterest inphotojournalism going ontowork for The Daily Texan newspaper at the University of Texas. At 20, he began working for The New York Times, shooting a fashion piece as his first commission. The following year he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography after shooting iconic images of Hurricane Katrina in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Under the mentorship of Magnum photography Eli Reed, who he compares to a father figure, he learned the power of artistic voice and the greater meaning of living life with your camera, photographing the / your own human experience. After a brief training stint at the Associated Press San Francisco office, it became clear he did not fit into office culture and was more interested in developing his own ideas through his photographic practice. He continued to build a roster of editorial and commercial clients, while almost secretly working in the darkroom printing silver gelatin prints, shooting medium format film, and creative narrative zines and book mockups. In 2016, he left Austin for New York City where he now resides but continues to spend time out in the world photographing what he interests him – touring with his friend’s band, dissecting masculinity, or exploring the natural world in Texas, Vermont, and California. He is expanding his practice into handpainting, bookmaking, gallery exhibitions, creative writing, apparel making, video motion filming, and mixed media work. He believes in living life in the frame, carries acamera every day,andlovestocreatepoetryfromthemagicoftheimage.

BenSklar

Born 1983. Baton Rouge, Louisiana Education

2002, SF Austin High School, Austin, TX 2006, Bachelor of Journalism, University of Texas, Austin, TX 2024, MFA Photography, University of Hartford (in progress)

Work History

2004 – Present, Freelance photographer

Clients include: AARP, Bloomberg, Businessweek, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Der Spiegel, Edelman, Elle, Elysium, ESPN, Esquire, Fortune, GQ, GREY, The Guardian, Weekend Magazine, Hearst Content Studio, INC., INK Global Publishing, L’Expres, Men’s Journal, M-Magazine, Du Monde, Modern Farmer, Mother Jones, Outdoor Voices, Outside, People, Politico, Popular Mechanics, Prevention, Real Simple, Runner’s World, The New York Times, T-Style Magazine, T Brand Studio, The Wall Street Journal, Vice, among others.

Exhibitions&Honors

2022,Solo, Sunshine Milkshake,FoltzFineArt,Houston,TX 2022, Nothing Left but Healing,groupbookandshow,PomegranatePress,Richmond,VA 2019,EASTgroupshow,Austin,TX

2018,MagentaFlashForward

2018, American Photography 34,Winner

2017, American Photography 33,Winner

2017,BushwickOpenStudios,NewYorkCity,NY

2015,ModernRocksGallery,Austin,TX,permanentcollection

2015,LowerLeftGalleryshow,Austin,TX

2014, Feature Shoot, artistfeature,May2014

2013, American Photography 29,ChosenWinner

2012,PhotoDistrictNewsAnnual 2011, F8 Magazine, artistfeature

2010, Telling Their Stories,groupshow,OgdenMuseum,NewOrleans,LA 2010, Covering Katrina exhibition,Newseum,Washington,D.C. 2010, Feature Shoot,artistfeature

2010, Zulu at 100 zine,HarryRansomCenterCollection,Austin,TX 2010,Solo, Zulu at 100,TheDarkroom,NewOrleans,LA 2010,AssociatedPressPhotosoftheDecade2000-2009,HurricaneKatrina 2009,Salonhanging,"Zuluat100,"Coupd'Oeil,NewOrleans,LA 2009,PX3-PrixdelaPhotographie,honorablementionphotostory&feature 2008,TheAtlantaPhotojournalismSeminar,thirdportrait,Atlanta,GA 2007,HurricaneKatrinaBenefit,TiruGallery,Austin,TX 2006,HearstJournalismAwardsProgram,thirdoverall,bestimage,firstnews&sports 2006,PhotographeroftheYearInternational,honorablementiondisasterphoto,sportsfeature 2006,SigmaDeltaChiAward,SocietyofProfessionalJournalists,breakingnewsphotography

About Foltz Fine Art

Foltz Fine Art (formerly William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art) is a legacy gallery in Houston, Texas dedicated to elevating premier Texas artists—from Early Texas Masters and Mid-Century Pioneers to Contemporary Regionalists. The gallery started in 2006 as William Reaves Fine Art and has since welcomed Sarah Foltz as Gallery Director in 2013 and becoming sole owner in 2017. In her new role, Sarah Foltz continues to uphold the gallery’s strong reputation as a trusted art advisor, secondary market specialist, and champion of Historical, Modern and Contemporary Texas art.

Foltz Fine Art

2143 Westheimer Road Houston, TX 77098 (713) 521-7500 www.foltzgallery.com