Degen received his Bachelors in Fine Arts from The Cooper Union School of Art and Science in 1998. In 1997, Degen participated in the Yale Norfolk Painting Fellowship, a summer program at Yale for rising undergraduate seniors in the fine arts
Career and work
Degen has exhibited work internationally in solo and group shows in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Zurich, and Singapore. Reviews have appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, the New York Times, the New Yorker, the New York Observer, Modern Painters, and Huffington Post among others. Degen is represented by Susan Inglett Gallery in New York City.
Degen finds inspiration in classical painting, nature and the figure. In a review of his exhibition “Shadow, Ripple, Reflection” 2013, Will Heinrich of The New York Observer describes the textural quality of Degen’s paint application. “Mr. Degen lays down paint like sculpture, multiplying little ridges into patterns that carry as much formal weight as their rich, sartorial colors. The leaves of grass poking this ocean gazer’s ankles are like plastic lanyards, a section of her dress seen against the sky is a stickiness as intricate as natto, and even the beer bottle is a psychedelic network of dashes.”
Personal
Degen is married to the artist Hope Gangloff. He is the son of the children's book author and illustrator Bruce Degen and artist/gardener Christine Degen. Benjamin's brother is the comic book artist Alex Degen.
Solo exhibitions
2015 "Where We Live" Susan Inglett Gallery, NYC
2013 “Shadow, Ripple, and Reflection”, Susan Inglett Gallery, NYC
2010 “Out of the dark, into the air”, Museum 52, NYC
