Ben Venom: Where Punk Rock, Quilting & Fine Art Collide - Ep. 216

This week on Not Your Granny’s Quilt Show, I’m talking with San Francisco-based textile artist Ben Venom, whose work brings together the worlds of counterculture, music, repurposed materials, and traditional textile techniques in a way that is completely his own. Ben grew up in the Atlanta punk rock scene of the 1990s, and while earning his MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute, he began making flags. In 2006, he saw the landmark Gee’s Bend quilt exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, an experience that changed the way he thought about textiles and opened the door to incorporating quilting into his artistic practice. In 2008, Ben created his first quilted piece for a group exhibition in Berlin, using old punk T-shirts collected from years of seeing punk and heavy metal bands. That piece became the beginning of an ongoing exploration of what happens when materials, imagery, and histories from very different worlds are brought together. I first discovered Ben’s work through an issue of QuiltFolk magazine, and I was immediately drawn to the juxtaposition of punk and metal imagery with silks, soft cottons, and traditional quilting techniques. There is something unexpected about seeing these materials together, and that tension is a huge part of what makes Ben’s work so compelling. We talk about his path from the punk scene to textile art, the influence of Gee’s Bend, working with repurposed materials, and how the stories and histories held by those materials become part of the artwork itself. Ben also shared a quote from Patti Smith that has become an important philosophy for how he approaches his life and work: build a good name, protect your work, don't compromise your values, and focus on doing good work. That idea really stuck with me. Ben’s work is available through his website, and he is currently teaching as an Artist in Residence at The Space Program in San Francisco. He is also creating a new body of work for a solo exhibition coming in February 2027, so definitely stay tuned for that. In the meantime, go check out Ben’s work and prepare to see textiles, quilting, and repurposed materials from a very different perspective. https://www.benvenom.com/ Please enjoy this conversation with Ben Venom! In this episode: • Ben’s Atlanta punk rock roots • Discovering the Gee’s Bend quilts and the impact they had on his work • His first quilted piece in 2008 • Turning punk and heavy metal T-shirts into art • The stories and histories carried by repurposed materials • The relationship between quilting, fine art, music, and counterculture • Why doing good work and building a good name matter • Ben’s upcoming solo exhibition in February 2027 Episodes are recorded, edited and produced by Amanda Oros. Logo art by Myranda Mondry. Want to see more? You can find it here: Find Podcast Merch here! nygqs.printify.me Follow along on Instagram: Podcast - https://www.instagram.com/notyourgrannysquiltshow Long-arming - https://www.instagram.com/sweetpeadesigncompany Subscribe to YouTube: https://youtube.com/@notyourgrannysquiltshow Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/notyourgrannysquiltshow Want to be on the show? Send us a message