Ben Sklar (American, b. 1983)

Ben Sklar is an editorial, commercial and fine art photographer based in New York City. He was born in Louisiana, but spent most of his life in Austin, Texas. He began his career in photojournalism accepting freelance commissions from the New York Times eventually migrating into editorial work for some of the world’s most prestigious publications. While the demand for his commercial work has required his attention, he has developed a personal practice in private maintaining a distinct artistic vision with a love for film and the alchemy of the darkroom. It is from an ongoing body of work taken over the past decade that his practice has progressed.

Sklar’s photographs have a singular thread of commonality – each contains something unexpected, an element that catches the viewer off guard, causing them to pause and allow for personal reflection. It is this “punctum”, as French philosopher/critic Roland Barthes referred to it in Camera Lucida, that repeats throughout Sklar’s work, and redirects the viewer back to his own sense of self. Sklar often uses the quotidian as a source of inspiration, and it is in seemingly small details that he captures with humor, compassion, at times, detached observation, that the viewer is repeatedly struck, finding or stumbling upon a point of impact or an element of fascination.

Education & Career Highlights

2006, BA Journalism, University of Texas, Austin, TX

Honors & Events

Solo show Foltz Fine Art 2020 (upcoming)

EAST group show 2019

Magenta Flash Forward 2018
American Photography 34 Winner 2018
American Photography 33 Winner 2017
Bushwick Open Studios NYC, 2017
Modern Rocks gallery, permanent collection, 2015
Lower Left gallery show, May 2015
Feature Shoot artist feature, May 2014
American Photography 29 Chosen Winner, 2013
Photo District News Annual, 2012
F8 Magazine artist feature, 2011
Telling Their Stories group show at the Ogden Museum, Aug 2010, New Orleans
Newseum, Katrina exhibition, D.C. 2010
Feature Shoot artist feature, 2010
Harry Ransom Center collection, “Zulu at 100” zine
Solo show at The Darkroom, New Orleans, "Zulu at 100," 2010
Associated Press Photos of the Decade 2000-2009, Hurricane Katrina
Salon hanging at Coup d'Oeil, New Orleans, "Zulu at 100," 2009
PX3 Gran Prix de Photographie, honorable mention photo story & feature, 2009
The Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, third portrait, 2008
Hurricane Katrina Benefit, Tiru Gallery, 2007
Hearst Journalism Awards Program, third overall, best image, first news & sports, 2006
Photographer of the Year International, honorable mention disaster photo, sports feature, 2006
Sigma Delta Chi Award, Society of Professional Journalists, breaking news photography, 2006

Commercial Clients

AARP
Bloomberg Businessweek
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Der Spiegel
Edelman
Elle
ESPN
Esquire
Fortune
GQ
GREY
The Guardian Weekend Magazine
Hearst Content Studio
INC.
INK Global Publishing
L’Expres
Men’s Journal
M-Magazine Du Monde
Modern Farmer
Mother Jones
Outdoor Voices
Outside
People
Politico
Popular Mechanics
Prevention
Real Simple
Runner’s World
The New York Times
T-Style Magazine
T Brand Studio
The Wall Street Journal
Vice

Ben Sklar

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