Ken Banks

Practice

I am an artist whose practice examines connections between obscure and chance encounters, using a range of media, including drawing, print, video, sound recordings, photography, and sculpture. My work documents the impact of interactions between people, objects, and the environment, mapping these connections. This is expressed through a personal typology, private, subjective, and unfiltered. A place that considers the accidental, the unexpected, and the power of chance.

Bio…

I am a Midlands-based artist, with strong Birmingham roots and I currently work from studios in Birmingham and Coventry. I have a passion for innovation and a background in engineering, which has included working with robotics, biocide capture, and virtual technologies. I am zealous about improvement and change for the better, investigating the "New" and the "Now" and this search for fresh discoveries continues to influence my work.

Ideology…

My practice is informed by the Rhizomatic ideology of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, where work is produced in response to evolving circumstances and allowed to follow lines of flight, rather than being pre-meditated. This philosophy has led to a fluid and constantly evolving way of working, without boundaries, mapping the process in my practice, and responding immediately to fresh avenues of thought. I work fast without contemplating the mark-making, the sweeping movements documenting connections and energy. 

Now & the future…

I am currently working as an artist in residence at Cranfield (September 2021- August 2022) where I am experimenting with polymers and graphene and looking at ways of working with non-traditional materials. I am also looking to develop multi-dimensional elements to my work, to extend beyond the 2D into a 3D physical and virtual reality, seeking to remove boundaries and create infinite worlds. To create a fully immersive environment with no clear beginning, middle, or end.

CV: Ken Banks

Current Projects

Cranfield University (September 2021 – Present) Artist in Residence: New Ways of Making.

Exhibitions

Artifacts, Birmingham, Group Collage Exhibition, Triple One Five, February 2023

Royal Birmingham Society Artists, Friends Exhibition, " Triangles Between Squares", January 2023

Rugby Art Gallery, Open Call, "Bird on the Wire", January 2023

Royal Birmingham Society Artists, Open Call, Collage, " 1939-42"

Birmingham Community Libraries, Solo Exhibition, " Masks of the Commonwealth",

July 2022 - September 2022

Fragile Centre for Contemporary Art: Burton Upon Burton, 2019

Fargo Village Coventry: The Outsiders 2019

Ikon: Forward: New Art from Birmingham 23 January -24 March 2019

Ort Gallery, Birmingham: I AM NOT AFRAID, 6 November – 13 November 2018

MK Gallery Studio: The Outsider, The Woughton Cuboid, Group Exhibition, 2017

Projects

Tate Liverpool: Swop Shop, 28 June – 1 July 2018

Redditch Council: Public Art Commission, Matchborough Art and Play 2017

Bordesley Abbey, Redditch: Stone Carving Workshops, Project Management and Delivery, 2017

Bordesley Abbey: Heritage Lottery, Project Management and Part Delivery of Public Art and Workshops, 2016-2017

Creative Producer

Triple One Five: Monthly Zine, Collaboration with Adam Wynn, September 2017 – Present

Alvechurch Parish Council: Public Art, Concept and Project Management 2014

Alvechurch Parish Council: Public Workshop, Lemonade Factory, 2014

Alvechurch Library: Jagger, The Killer and the Prettiest Man in Rock and Roll, Curator, Organiser of the Jim Simpson Photograph Archive. 2017

Alvechurch Library: My Rock and Roll Life, Tim Parsons (Music Promoter) Archive, Curator and Organiser, 2014

Music

Captured Music Ltd: Founder and Co-Owner of Music and Video Production Company, 2008-13

Major Key Studios Ltd: Founder and Co-Owner of Recording Studios, 2008-2011

Engineering

Cameron-Price Ltd: Managing Director and Co-Owner, High Precision Plastic Engineering, and Toolmaking, 1975 – 2004

Zone Innovation Ltd: Founder and Owner, Product Development and Research, 2004-2007

Finished artist

Words & Pictures, Advertising Agency, Finished Artist, 1974

Davis & Ripley, Design and Print Studio, Finished Artist 1973-1974

Education

Pg. Certificate Art& Design: Interdisciplinary Practices, 2021, Birmingham School of Art (BCU)

BA (Hons) Art & Design 2019, Birmingham School of Art (BCU)

Pg. Diploma Manufacturing Management 1996, Coventry University