Ben Fernandez
My mixed media work "America You've Got Texts" is on view in "America 250", a display organized by the Manville Arts Council at Manville Borough Hall in Manville, NJ. The piece will be exhibited throughout the summer.
My mixed media work "America You've Got Texts" is on view in "America 250", a display organized by the Manville Arts Council at Manville Borough Hall in Manville, NJ. The piece will be exhibited throughout the summer.
Pictured is the top portion of my mixed media work, "Awaken", which was selected for the front cover of the 2023 issue of "Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry." This piece was created as part of my "Transcendence" series, which in itself is a creative accompaniment to the scholarly paper for my Honors Project at Caldwell University, "Discovering the Spiritual in Contemporary Visual Art", for which I passed with distinction in the spring of 2023.
My mixed media work "America You've Got Texts" is on view in "America 250", a display organized by the Manville Arts Council at Manville Borough Hall in Manville, NJ. The piece will be exhibited throughout the summer.
Ben Fernandez (b. 2001) is a mixed media artist, art writer, and emerging gallery curator and organizer based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. He graduated summa cum laude, with Honors, from Caldwell University with a B.F.A. in Studio Art with a concentration in mixed media, and a minor in Art History.
In August 2019, at 18 years old, Fernandez participated in his first studio residency and group gallery exhibition through the Sol Studio program at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, N.J. His work was purchased by—and currently resides at—ESKFF (Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation) NEST, an artist retreat center in Woodstock, New York.
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Since the fall of 2021, Fernandez's work has additionally been featured in solo exhibitions, as well as group exhibitions, at galleries and community venues throughout New Jersey. His most recent solo shows include Imagine (July 2022–present), Be Still (Summer 2023–present), Transfiguration (April 2024), Urgent (May 2025–present), and Art Meets Alphabet (July 2025–present). Among the group exhibitions in which his work has been included are the Manville Arts Council (MAC) 2024, 2025 and 2026 Expos at the Manville Public Library in Manville, NJ in May, as well as several (September 2024–present) at Nails in the Wall Gallery at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Metuchen, NJ. His current work explores his interests in spirituality and other universal topics.​
In addition to his studio practice, Fernandez has emerging gallery curatorial and organizational experience. He has curated a traveling exhibition of watercolor paintings and colored pastel drawings by the late Isabella Neufeld since the summer of 2023. At the Mueller Gallery at Caldwell University, he was the assistant curator of a group faculty exhibition, Inspire 2023, from September–October 2023; and two solo visiting artist exhibitions, including Sarah Canfield's Reverb: Imagining the Invisible from October–November 2023 and Steve Rossi's Prior Appropriation (with Robbie Wing) in February 2024. Fernandez facilitated artist talks during the openings of both Inspire 2023 and Prior Appropriation. He then wrote an essay for the catalog of a fall 2024 solo exhibition featuring visiting artist Nick Lamia. As the culmination of his work with the Mueller Gallery, he curated and organized all aspects of Connexum: Caldwell University Kappa Pi 2025 Alumni & Student Exhibition, a group exhibition featuring alumni and students from Caldwell's Iota Epsilon chapter of Kappa Pi, the international art Honors society, for February 2025. As an alumnus of Kappa Pi, he was among the exhibiting artists. He additionally facilitated the opening of the show, including the artist talk and reception. At the same time, he wrote a series of wall texts that were displayed alongside the work of multimedia artist Sarah Canfield in her retrospective show at the BrassWorks Gallery in Montclair, NJ for the spring of 2025.
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Throughout the past year, Fernandez has directed an international community initiative through the gifting and custom framing of limited-edition religious serigraph prints by Italian contemporary artist Gabriela Desvaldi to individuals, community venues and religious centers. Additionally, as a program aide at the Therapeutic Recreation Department of the Somerset County Park Commission in Bridgewater, NJ, he supports participants with special needs during art programs and other activities. He also volunteers at Matheny Medical and Educational Center in Peapack, NJ, where he helps install artwork by clients/residents with physical and developmental disabilities.
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Fernandez's artwork has been showcased in publications including—but not limited to—Under One Sky: Leaping Letters (2019), a picture book distributed to Rwandan schoolchildren; the N.J. Department of Human Services 2020 Calendar; the 2023 issue of Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry; the 2023 and 2024 issues of Calyx, the literary journal of Caldwell University; multiple issues (2023–25) of the Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen in NJ.; and several issues (2021–present) of the Bridgewater-Raritan BReeze.
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The numerous art accolades Fernandez has received include a full scholarship to attend classes at The Kubert School in Dover, NJ (May 2016), a first-place state award in Logo Design from New Jersey Future Business Leaders of America (March 2019) and a second-place state award in Digital Art presented at the New Jersey State House in Trenton (May 2019).​
Artist Statement
I am a mixed media artist who is deeply interested in the visceral and emotional. As a mixed media artist, I work with a wide range of materials to transcend boundaries of creativity, dimension, and communication. Each of my pieces is developed as a unique experience shaped by exploration, risk-taking, and discovery.
My art establishes a connection between myself and viewers of all backgrounds, enabling them to engage with my work and gain insights to contemplate and act upon in their own lives. Responding to the ongoing situation of division, unrest, and conflict facing my emerging generation, I am compelled to address important, universal themes of humanity and connection. I believe that art can be both comforting and challenging, presenting a way into the soul and a catalyst for personal transformation and shared understanding.
For inquiries regarding interest in my work, please feel free to contact me via email at:
bejafe-art@yahoo.com