Coliseum of Bliss Tint Token by Ben Wolf at Knockdown Center.

Ben Wolf

Ben Wolf is an installation-driven, large-scale site-specific sculptor. His work incorporates rotten boards, rusted stair wells, peeling paint and other objects of decadent abandonment. Combining the techniques of carpentry, welding, and casting, and a process of adding, stacking, and layering, he simultaneously embraces and arranges the chaos of his materials.

Wolf has exhibited his work at the Rabid Hands Collective (Detroit), Secret Project Robot (New York), and MU Eindhoven (Holland).

For Anxious Spaces: Installation as Catalyst, Ben Wolf presented Coliseum of Bliss Tint Token, an installation and collaborative performance. Coliseum of Bliss Tint Token was a site-specific installation focusing on the simple circle as the core defining shape. Ben Wolf used construction scaffolding to create a huge radiating structure, engulfing the windows, doorways, and walls of a 100-year-old Knockdown outdoor building known as the "Ruin." Although made from disused, rusty materials and presented at a massive scale, the overall structure and custom angles achieved a surprisingly quiet harmony. Wolf considered this ambitious installation to be an homage to the allure of time’s mark on material. For the performance festival, Wolf’s installation was inhabited by ongoing live performances by musicians Trabajo, VNESSWOLFCHILD, Cloud Becomes Your Hand, and Ryan Power.

Anxious Spaces: Installation as Catalyst

A group exhibition in which six installation artists engage a space beckoning with desire and opportunity. Knockdown Center's cathedral-like complex, with its breathtaking expanse, mysterious sub-chambers, surprise annexes, and hidden pockets, is a dream environment for site-specific and installation art. In addition, these works incorporate dynamic and time-based elements ranging from robotic interactivity to performance events to social intervention. Taken together, the architecture and the artworks transform the space into a surreal bazaar of curiosities for the adventurous. Opening June 15th, from 2-6pm. Special artist talk/tour at 5pm. The exhibition is open every Saturday and Sunday, from June 15 to July 6, 2-6pm. Click HERE to find out about the July 5th Performance Festival!

Anxious Spaces: Performance Festival

A celebration of artists using installation work as a platform for performance, featuring Raul de Nieves, Christian Joy, Hisham Bharoocha, Brian Chase, Desi Santiago,and more.

Anxious Spaces, Artist Interviews

Artists Christian Joy (soft sculpture), Ben Wolf (welded parasite), and Hisham Bharoocha (drum circle) in conversation on site at the Clocktower's Anxious Spaces exhibition at Knockdown Center. On view June 15-July 6, 2014. This program is posted in three parts so listeners can advance quickly to select an artist segment using the player navigation menu. Anxious Spaces is a group exhibition in which six installation artists engage a space beckoning with desire and opportunity. Knockdown Center's cathedral-like complex, with its breathtaking expanse, mysterious sub-chambers, surprise annexes, and hidden pockets, is a dream environment for site-specific and installation art. In addition, these works incorporate dynamic and time-based elements ranging from robotic interactivity to performance events to social intervention. Taken together, the architecture and the artworks transform the space into a surreal bazaar of curiosities for the adventurous.

Anxious Spaces VnessWolfCHild

VnessWolfCHild (Vanessa Cronan) croons to the audience in the Coliseum of Bliss Tint Token, a massive sculpture built by Ben Wolf as an homage to joy. Psychedelic, interactive songs like I Love My Body float into the hot summer air in this live set, staged for the Anxious Spaces: Performance Festival at Knockdown Center.

Anxious Spaces: Trabajo

Trabajo, the project of electronic sound artists Yuchen Lin and TJ Richards, features an an intermix of musical genres including gamelan, exotica, folk, and noise. In this recording, the artists play live in the Coliseum of Bliss Tint Token installation by Ben Wolf; their performance is a part of the Anxious Spaces Performance Festival at Knockdown Center.

Anxious Spaces: Ryan Power

A live performance from the infinitely complex mind of the Vermont songwriter/producer, Ryan Power, staged in the Coliseum of Bliss Tint Token installation by Ben Wolf and recorded during the Anxious Spaces Performance Festival at Knockdown Center.