Ben Orkin is a Cape Town-based sculptor best recognised for his exploration of queer intimacy through the medium of ceramic vessels. His creations delicately navigate the realms of nourishment and dependency, validation and resistance, love and separation, encapsulating the complexities of human connection. Their textured finish is evidence of the hand-builder’s careful touch, imbuing the sculptures with a sense of the tactile and, at times, the erotic.

A 2020 graduate of the Michaelis School of Fine Art, Orkin's artistic journey has been marked by notable achievements. ince 2019 He has held three solo exhibitions with WHATIFTHEWORLD Cape Town, namely 'You Told Me…' (2019), 'Extra Safe' (2021) and 'Backrooms, Bookstores, Balconies, Meatracks and Tearooms' (2023). He was awarded the Simon Gerson Prize in 2021. His work has been recently acquired by the A4 Foundation. In 2022 Orkin participated in the OÖ AIR artist in residence program at OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH Museumstraße. His artwork is part of the public collection OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH, Austria.

Venturing beyond borders, Orkin's art has graced international stages, with appearances at art fairs such as Investec Cape Town Art Fair (2023), Art Joburg (2022), 1-54 London (2022), Miart Milan (2022), FNB Art Joburg (2023), NOMAD Capri 2023, and Investec Cape Town Art Fair (2023). Additionally, in 2022, Orkin participated in the OÖ AIR artist-in-residence program at OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH Museumstraße.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023
‘Backrooms, Bookstores, Balconies, Meatracks and Tearooms’, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa

2021
‘Extra Safe’, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa

2019
‘You told me…’, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024
'Compressing Materiality', EBONY/CURATED, Franschhoek, South Africa

2023
'Fullhouse', Blank Projects, Cape Town, South Africa
'Oh So Quiet’, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa
Art Cologne, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cologne, Germany
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa
NOMAD Capri, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Capri, Italy

2022
'Seeds of the Fig’, Krone x WHATIFTHEWORLD, Tulbagh, South Africa
1-54 London, WHATIFTHEWORLD, London, United Kingdom
FNB Art Joburg, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Johannesburg, South Africa
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa
'Material Echos', WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa

2021
'RESTUDIO', Cunningham Contemporary, Johannesburg, South Africa
1-54 London, Nuweland Gallery, London, United Kingdom
'In Times Like These... Land Other Stories', WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa
'40 under 40', WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa
'Between Strangers', Nuweland Gallery, Oosterzee, Netherlands

2020
'Shaping Things', SMAC Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Art Rotterdam, Nuweland Gallery, Rotterdam, Netherlands
1-54 New York, Nuweland Gallery, New York, United States of America
'Re-Imagining Clay In South Africa In The 21st Century', EBONY/CURATED, Franschhoek, South Africa