InLiquid @ Shipley
Featuring Ben Woodward
Ben Woodward was born in West Philadelphia in 1974. He is a founding member of the artist group Space 1026, and he has shown in galleries and museums from South Philadelphia to Japan. He currently lives with his wife, Chi; daughter, Atari; and their one-eyed pug, Leroy.
The Dancing Critter series are part of The Graffiti For Five Year-Olds Project, which grew from father-daughter drawing sessions.
“I was interested in the way she interpreted my art and the process of drawing. I wanted her to be more engaged in the world around her and to know she had a place in it. We would make drawings together at home that I’d take to studio and clean up. I made prints from these and put them up around the neighborhood. The prints were placed at little kid eye level and I would wait for her to find them.”
Atari Woodward was not the only one to notice these characters. Spotting Ben’s Dancing Guys became a neighborhood ritual, enjoyed by children and adults. A friend near the corner of 4th and Brown offered Ben wall space for a mural. Here one can see a great gathering of Dancing Guys, an index of some of the many characters.
With 10 x 10 works by:
Chogrin Muñoz (aka Joseph Game)
Brooke Hine
Colleen Hammond
Melinda Steffy
Jonathan Pinkett
Rebecca Gilbert
Margaux Kent
Keith Breitfeller
Brad Carney
Kara LaFleur
David Guinn
Walter Kent
El Toro (Justin Nagtalon)
Anne Canfield
Deborah Curtiss
