Ben Bridgers

Skateboarder, Ben Bridgers, cut his teeth here in the triangle. Born and raised in Raleigh, he skated the Fayetteville Street Mall, Brickyard at NCSU, the Farm Ramp in Garner as a teen. He and his friends took to the road in the late-80's to try for the big time - skating in amateur contests up and down the East Coast. Bridgers even moved to Wilson in order to be near the skate ramp there. He had no intentions of receiving his BFA in painting from Barton College, but he did in 1995. He went on to receive his MFA from the University of Georgia in Athens and then to teach painting and drawing as a Professor of Art at the University of Wyoming. But he still hasn't given up his love for skating, even bringing his board to the mountainous Tuscan town, Cortona, Italy when he taught art there in 2001. Bridgers will be showing charcoal drawings and oil paintings next month at Firefly.

His newest work reflects his lifetime passion for skating.
Please join us for the opening reception Jan. 2 from 6pm - 10 pm.

Ben Bridgers, Smithgrind Serenade
Jan. 2 - Feb. 27, 2004
Opening Reception:
January 2 6pm - 10pm
at Firefly
605 Glenwood Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27603
M - Sat 11 - 8
Sun 1 - 5

ARTIST STATEMENT:
I have spent my life immersed in the subculture of skateboarding. From my teens through my early twenties I traveled the United States and parts of Europe competing and in search for things that were new. This in part tailored my personality and the way I view the urban environment. The abandonment and desolation of an empty swimming pool is my Mt. Everest.

The drawings, paintings, and objects I build are an attempt to gain an essence of personal fascination. Somehow I am trying to reconnect to an event, thought, or action. In the studio where my head spins and my heart beats, I root around in memories, ideas, and images from my own experiences.

Ben Bridgers