Interview with Artist and Curator Benjamin Weldon

Earlier this year, I was privileged to be part of the exhibition Dichotomy at the Cochran Gallery in LaGrange, Georgia. This is not only because it was an incredible exhibition with an exciting concept — submit your work, and have your piece paired with another artists’ work for the exhibition as a diptych — but because I am positive that the exhibition was the first of many incredible curatorial ventures by Benjamin Weldon, along with fellow curators Nathan Kersey and De’Sean Tucker. Recently, I was able to sit for a conversation with Benjamin Weldon, and gain insight on his spot in the art world from creating his own work, curating exhibitions, and other plans that he has for the future.

Benjamin Weldon, also known as Benny, recently graduated from Columbus State University with his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in printmaking. Benny has experience working within the art realm in many different capacities. He has worked at the Bo Bartlett Center, Pasaquan, and The Columbus Museum. In addition to this, he is a talented artist and has already curated his first exhibition, as previously mentioned.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Everchanted, comic (original pages inked on 11x14 paper), 2024

Q: How did you first get involved in the art community?

A: I got into creating art at a very young age. I used to watch a lot of cartoons, but it didn’t become really serious until high school when I began making comics. Eventually, I ended up joining the art club and becoming president of the National Art Honors Society at Columbus High School. I was also able to self-publish my first comic in high school as well. I can look back on the comic now and see that it was really bad, but it did kickstart me wanting to pursue an art career.

Q: Tell me about your work that you do now and how it has evolved. What mediums do you work with?

A:  I still make comics, however, I have definitely evolved, especially through CSU and through many of my friends and peers pushing me in different directions. Currently, most of my work has been a mixture of illustrations, comics, printmaking, and painting.

Alienation, 18"x20", linoleum print, 2023

Q: What are you trying to say through your work? Do you have an overarching theme that you are trying to address?

A: Something that has developed in my work is the theme of memory. Sometimes, I just like to remember certain events or certain conversations I can remember off the top of my head. It evolved into making humorous illustrations out of them. It then branched out from there to the idea of ‘how do words and imagery coexist?’

Boiling Point, 12"x14", linoleum print, 2023

Q: Why is memory a pertinent topic within your work?

A: Growing up, it was important to remember things, especially because people in my family have suffered from dementia. I guess because of that, I try to remember certain funny moments, crucial things, and things that I can look back on to remember what I was experiencing at the time.

Q: That’s an interesting perspective that you have on the topic of memory. I can imagine that because of that it is a pertinent topic for you to explore.

A:  Yes, I want to remember these wonderful moments or even just some random things that like people are talking about at the time. It is very interesting to me.

Fine Dining, 16"x16", linoleum print, 2022

Q: So, recently you curated the exhibition Dichotomy with Nathan Kersey and De’Sean Tucker at the Cochran Gallery. I loved the idea behind the exhibition of pairing two different artists’ work together into a diptych. Could you tell me more about that? Did you face any struggles? What were some highlights?

A: We were so excited about the show, but we didn’t know all the preparations it took to curate an exhibition. I took on the role of coordinating and doing things like answering emails related to the exhibition and making sure that all the artwork got there on time. Later, we sat down together and curated which pieces were paired together or how they were positioned within the gallery.

One of the hardest parts was having to turn people down from the exhibition, and it was only because we were not able to pair them with another artist. Everyone’s work was phenomenal

We were amazed by the turnout of the exhibition, especially since it was a rainy day. We all thought that not a lot of people would show up, but we had around 200 people attend.

Q: Can you tell us anything about the plans you have for the next exhibition? What about upcoming plans for your artwork?

A: We’ve laughed about it many times, and we think it would be crazy to do, but we’ve had the idea of doing an exhibition with a monochromatic color scheme. I would also like to be able to break outside of the box of what types of art shows we usually have in the area.

As for my own work, In the past, I have made the distinction in my brain that painting, printmaking, and illustration were all completely different ball games in a sense. In essence, they all have the same fundamental core. Recently, I’ve been trying to integrate techniques from each of these mediums into one another. I am making it so that all of my work almost coexists with one another.

Something else I’ve been doing is exploring the connection between people and my artwork. For example, I’ll ask people on Instagram what I should draw, and integrate those ideas into my work. I would like to create a larger-scale version across Columbus where I use posters with QR codes for feedback, and eventually create a large final piece.

Connect with Benny:

Instagram - @benw_arts