Ben Rivers

Ben Rivers' creations have been featured in film festivals and galleries worldwide, earning multiple accolades.  

Biography of Ben Rivers

Ben Rivers is a British artist and experimental filmmaker born in Somerset, UK, in 1972. From 1990 to 1993, he studied at the Falmouth School of Art, graduating with a BA in Fine Art.

In 2011, Rivers's debut feature film, "Two Years at Sea," premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in the Orizzonti section. The film went on to secure the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize.

In 2013, he received the Artangel Open Commission, leading to the creation of the film "The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers." The film was showcased at the BBC Television Centre in 2015 and later at The Whitworth Gallery in Manchester in 2016.

From 2009 to 2020, Rivers worked as a visiting lecturer at various institutions, including Harvard University, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, CalArts, Goldsmiths, the Royal College of Art, the Slade School of Art, the Falmouth School of Art, the University of London, Cornell University, Kingston University, among others.

Ben Rivers' works have been showcased internationally. His recent solo exhibitions include "Ghost Strata and Other Stories" at Jeu de Paume in Paris (2023), "It's About Time" at STUK in Leuven (2023), "After London" at Jeu de Paume in Paris (2022), "Urthworks" at Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo (2021), "Now, at Last!" at Kate MacGarry Gallery in London (2019), and many more.

Additionally, Ben Rivers has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including "Somewhere from Here to Heaven" at Azkuna Zentroa in Bilbao (2022), "TWENTY" at Kate MacGarry Gallery in London (2022), "TOI 700d" at "Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire" in Paris (2021), among others.

Rivers' video works have been showcased at various film festivals around the world, including the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, the Karlovy-Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, the International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the Venice Film Festival in Italy, the Glasgow Film Festival in Scotland, and the London Film Festival in the UK, as well as the LA Film Forum in the USA, among others.

Currently, the artist lives and works in London. 

Ben Rivers' Art Style 

Rivers delves into a diverse range of themes, from venturing into unexplored wilderness territories to capturing candid and intimate portraits of real-life subjects. His films often provide intimate portrayals of solitary individuals or isolated communities, straddling the boundary between documentary and fiction. Using these themes as a foundation, Rivers envisions alternative narratives and existences in the margins of society.

Employing analog media, he frequently hand-develops 16mm film, where the tangible traces of exposure to the elements become integral to the narrative, highlighting the materiality of the medium itself.