Ben DiNino

Artist Statement

In my work I strive to shed light on the overlooked or discarded; those items or places that are forgotten or slightly out of focus in the background. By highlighting their existence or reconfiguring them into something unique I hope to breathe new life into these neglected images and objects. The majority of my artistic practice recently has centered on collage, book art, and assemblage. I endeavor to prolong the life of these outdated how-to manuals, old magazines, snap shots, slide film, and any other materials I‘m able to cut up and reassemble. This is also a challenge since I force myself to create something visually interesting or confusing out of what can at times be banal source material.

I'm a founding member of the Twin Cities Collage Collective, a group who formed in 2019 to hold free community art making sessions and teach folks about the medium of collage. I'm also a member of The Collage Club, which is a group of international artists who weekly use a new image as starting point for a work and then share the results online. Since 2018 I've challenged myself to post a new piece everyday on instagram.