Ben Sadler: You and I
The first book of paintings by Birmingham-based artist Ben Sadler will be released by London-based publisher Hurtwood Press as part of their Contemporary Artist Series this spring, and launched at the Midlands Arts Centre in Sadler’s home city. He could even walk home afterwards, at a push. Fused Magazine caught up with the artist to find out more about the book, his paintings and his experiences of gallery private views.
Can you introduce yourself to anyone who doesn’t already know you?
I’m Ben Sadler, an artist based in Birmingham in the U.K. I love art, nature, space and old shopping centres. I’m a big fan of painting, people, cats, and painting people and cats. I live with my family, Katy (human), Hazel (human) and Oscar (cat), who are a big inspiration for my work. I paint in the evenings mostly, in my living room. In the daytime I make art with my friend Philip Duckworth – we work together under the name Juneau Projects and design and create public art works with communities. I really like music and books.
Left: Ben Sadler – Apple, 2024. Series: You and I. Right: Ben Sadler – Crikey!, 2024. Series: Exclamations!
Your painted portraits are often of distinctive-looking people. Do you have any distinguishing features yourself?
I’ve got a scar on my forehead from a boomerang that my dad threw. We both forgot that it would come back. I was seven at the time.
Did you study art?
I studied for my BFA at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford, from 1995–98. I then did an MA at the Royal College of Art, London, from 2002–04.
Left: Ben Sadler – Kite, 2024. Series: You and I. Right: Ben Sadler – Guitar, 2024. Series: You and I.
Did you have a good time?
Yes! Art schools are incredible places. To have the time and space to play and experiment is a great thing, and to have so many like-minded people around you is brilliant. I learnt so much at the Ruskin and at the RCA, and was lucky to have some fantastic and generous tutors.
You make art in many mediums – painting, drawing, sculpture, digital drawing and AI imagery, performance, music, the list goes on. What is it that connects your practice across these mediums, would you say?
Curiosity. I love making things. I love thinking about making things. I love seeing what things I can make. I start to feel fizzy if I don’t make things. Also, the World. Making things helps me understand the world.
Ben Sadler – Likewise!, 202. Series: Exclamations! Left: Ben Sadler – Oh!, 2024. Series: Exclamations!
Painting is clearly only one part of your practice, but has long been an almost daily activity for you – can you tell us about your relationship with this particular medium?
Painting is a beautiful thing. A surface becomes a world with some strokes of colour. I find the process of painting exhilarating. Emotions run high for the first few brushmarks and then slowly things click into place. Everything else disappears. There’s a calmness that I feel when a painting is reaching completion. When that peace fills me, I know it’s time to put the brushes down for the evening.
Your paintings are often very small – why is it that you like working on this scale?
I often paint in my living room, so the scale works well. It would be inconsiderate to block the TV with a large canvas. The small size also allows me to complete a painting in one session, but to get a lot of paint in there if I need to. I like painting larger too though. I just don’t have many big brushes.
Left: Ben Sadler – Unbelievable!, 2024. Series: Exclamations! Right: Ben Sadler Plants, 2024. Series: You and I.
Some people might wonder if your paintings are in oil, but they are actually made with acrylics – what is it about acrylics that works for you?
I work quickly so the drying time of acrylic is often useful. I like how they behave when thinned; they’re almost like watercolours. David Hockney was a big influence on me as a young artist too, the splash in A Bigger Splash [1967] in particular. I love the way he uses acrylic.
Can you describe your recent series of paintings You and I? It’s a curious series of portraits. Who are the characters depicted, and what’s going on?
You and I is an attempt by me to imagine a cast of characters at an exhibition opening. In the background of each portrait is a detail of the paintings on display at this imaginary exhibition. I was working with a range of public domain photographs. They come to life for me as the paint builds on the panel and I start to understand what has brought these people to this exhibition and what they might be saying or thinking at that moment.
You are having a book published this spring featuring this series – can you tell us more about the book? Is it just the You and I series that will be presented?
I’m very excited about the book! It’s the first published book of my paintings. It spotlights the You and I portrait series (twenty-four portraits in total), painted in 2024, and also features my Exclamations! portrait series, painted the previous year, which laid the groundwork for the You and I series.
Left: Ben Sadler – Xylophone, 2024. Series: You and I. Right: Ben Sadler Zounds!, 2024. Series: Exclamations!
Are we right in thinking that the alphabet is an important element in the conception of both series?
Yes! There are twenty-six paintings in the Exclamations! series, and they’re titled with an exclamation for each letter of the alphabet. You and I consists of twenty-four paintings: each painting is titled after an object (a detail of which appears in the backgrounds) corresponding to each letter of the alphabet, although ‘U’ and ‘I’ have been mysteriously left out!
Have you enjoyed the process of making a book?
It has been a wonderful journey. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to work with – Hurtwood are fantastic. The book features contributions from Deborah Kermode, Catherine O’Flynn and Ceri Hand, all of whom I deeply admire and respect.
Deborah is the director of MAC Birmingham (where I had my very first public exhibition at the age of 16) and has written a foreword to the book. I first met Deborah when I was a recent art school graduate and she was a curator at Birmingham’s IKON Gallery. I’m constantly amazed by her support for artists and enthusiasm for her work. She’s always encouraged me with my practice. The book is being published in association with MAC, and MAC are also hosting the launch of the book, which I’m thrilled about.
Catherine is a brilliant author. Her debut novel, What Was Lost [2007] had a profound effect on me when I read it at the time of its release. I won’t spoil the story but the textures and atmospheres it conjures up really resonated with me. I was over the moon when she agreed to write a text for the book – she has written about her experience of galleries and exhibitions, alongside a series of engaging descriptions, one for each character in the You and I series.
Ceri is a creative coach. I have worked with Ceri in a number of capacities over the years, including when she represented my friend Phil and I as Juneau Projects in a gallery she was running. The conversations we had with her during that time have been lodged indelibly in my mind. Ceri conducted the interview at the end of the book with me. She is fantastic to talk to, has so many insights, and I couldn’t think of anyone I would rather be interviewed by.
You mentioned that there’ll be an event to launch the book?
Yes, we are having a launch at MAC Birmingham on 12 April [2025]. It will be an in-conversation event hosted by Deborah and will feature Catherine, Ceri and myself discussing themes and ideas from the book as well as undoubtedly heading off on multiple tangents! I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a free event and everyone’s welcome.
Ben Sadler – You and I, published by Hurtwood Press, spring 2025, £24 RRP. For further details about the book, visit hurtwood.co.uk. Launch event, MAC Birmingham, 12 April 2025, 14.00–15.30. For further info, visit macbirmingham.co.uk
All images: Acrylic on board, 15.3 x 9.3 cm.
No Comments