Eroica is an exhibition of pen and ink drawings by Benjamin Sack, which opens this weekend at Ghostprint Gallery. The marks on the paper hanging at Ghostprint do more than just record moments in time; they communicate time itself. Benjamin Sack’s work is made up of millions of tiny, ornately detailed buildings that have the viewer inching up close and personal to each work, appreciating the eras each building represents and the time it took to make them.
Eroica is an exhibition of pen and ink drawings by Benjamin Sack, which opens this weekend at Ghostprint Gallery. The marks on the paper hanging at Ghostprint do more than just record moments in time; they communicate time itself. Benjamin Sack’s work is made up of millions of tiny, ornately detailed buildings that have the viewer inching up close and personal to each work, appreciating the eras each building represents and the time it took to make them. The size of his pieces echo the vastness of the cities he creates. He combines all the significant aspects of the eras of enlightenment and modernity, drawing it all into these beautiful, diverse cities with pen and ink. He then puts the viewer on top of it all. “The modern experience is all about democracy or democratizing of civilization, society,” Sack explains. “What better way to make everyone equal in perceiving everything from the same vantage point?”
It’s not just in the eras the buildings represent, but the compositions themselves. Painter Josh George, Sack’s teacher at The Art Department and his former studio mate, says of Sack’s works, “…they create an even larger world, bigger than our own. There are hidden things in them which I did not know, the creation of Adam… but there’s always something to find in there.” The references to music are hard to miss, the show’s title refers to Beethoven’s Third Symphony. Geraldine Duskin, the owner of Ghostprint Gallery, describes the show as being heroic, which is also the English translation of the show’s Italian title. “It’s a representation of the act of creation, and it’s a heroic journey for the viewer as well–to go through and really look at these pieces, and appreciate what’s going on. There [are] a lot [of] references to philosophy, music, literature.”
Eroica opens with an artist’s reception on Thursday, January 31 from 6 to 9pm, where you can talk to Ben in person and see how he has made sure that no detail has been spared. You can also see the show on Friday, February 1st, on the First Friday’s Art Walk. Ghostprint Gallery is located at 220 W. Broad St. The exhibit will remain on display throughout the month of February.
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By Ally Hodges
