Quiltmaking is something not often associated with dudes, so I was stoked to come across Ben Venom, who makes some decidedly dude-ish quilts and fabric art. The focus of his fabric works are metal t-shirts, which he cuts up and then lovingly arranges into deathly visages. His quilts pay tribute to his deep Southern metal-loving roots, as he hails from Charleston and Atlanta respectively. His works of fabric art, with titles like “Listen to Heavy Metal…”, “Iron Fist” and “Thor’s Hammer,” create geometric radness in the shape of skulls, upside down crosses and wild 80s metal guitars – at least that’s what it looks like to me. He cites ’87 as his year of inspiration, and his choice of graphics and shapes definitely reflect late 80s metal, although there are some newer bands thrown in there for balance. For me, with his “Listen to Heavy Metal…” quilt (pictured right), he has shed a whole new light on how quiltmaking can be cool for everyone, not just indie darlings who make a living from craft fairs. I really love the fact that metal has such a broad inspiration on the artist community around the world, and every time I find someone doing something totally wacky and weird and different with that inspiration I get a little chill. In fact, he has inspired me to make a quilt. We’ll see if that happens. Anyway, Venom is also a passionate silkscreener, who uses unconventional media like tea and resin to create awesome, multi-faceted prints. He teaches silkscreening at several places in SF, including the San Francisco Art Institute. After the jump, check out some of his quilts and prints…
Images via My Love For You and Ben Venom
New Comments