The Universe of Ben Jones

Press Release

This extraordinary retrospective presents six decades of creative expression by the artist Ben Jones. Many of the works—bold, insightful, and in a visual language all his own—have rarely been exhibited or are on display here for the first time. Come see how Jones’s symbology has transcended global and local issues of ecology, technology, politics, and spirituality, making him the conscience of his generation and of today.

This exhibition is part of a year-long Mellon Foundation-funded collaboration between William Paterson University and New Jersey City University that will celebrate the American artist Ben Jones, a 1963 graduate of William Paterson and a New Jersey City University professor emeritus of art.

Over his six-decade career, the artist has focused on interconnections and relationships between global issues including politics, health, the environment, racism, and capitalism, among others. The exhibition, co-curated by Casey Mathern, director of the William Paterson University Galleries, and Midori Yoshimoto, director of the New Jersey City University Galleries, will be on view in the William Paterson University Galleries during fall 2023, and in the Harold B. Lemmerman Gallery at New Jersey City University during spring 2024, with some variations between the two installations. There will be a concurrent exhibition of the artist’s mentees at both institutions titled Constellations, celebrating the legacy of Jones’s teaching and mentorship. 

Ben F. Jones was born in New Jersey in 1941. A graduate of William Paterson University with a BFA, he earned an MA from New York University and an MFA from Pratt Institute. Jones has made nearly 100 cultural exchange visits to Cuba since the 1970s, and is noted by the Granma International of Havana, Cuba as one of the most important African American artists of his generation. For more than four decades, his multimedia installations have reflected his travel and research in Africa, Europe, South America, the United States, and the Caribbean. Jones has lectured at universities, museums, and cultural institutions across the world including Harvard University, Howard University, Savannah College of Art and Design, the Wilfredo Lam Center in Havana, Cuba, and the University of Ghana.