Ben Mazey (b. 1980) is an Australian-based artist whose work evolves from a cathartic process of liberating the nostalgic and the familiar. Mazey approaches his practice with 14 years of experience in fashion and design across Europe, Asia, and Australia. Notably, Mazey spent 7 years as design director for Kenzo in Paris. Currently holds the post of design director at lifestyle brand PE Nation.

Reluctant to credit concepts such as modernism or brutalism as inspiration, Mazey’s creative process involves reflecting on what resonates with him. He sifts through a back catalogue of material as a source of inspiration – equating himself to a magpie collecting bits and pieces from far and wide.

The wide-ranging references in his work are largely influenced by his time spent in Europe, contrasted with his childhood and ongoing familial ties in New Zealand. He breaks down the domestic to create something fresh and imperfect, drawing from a lo-fi palette of impressionism. The outcome is a shedding of the demand that artistic exploration requires the burden of meaning.

He works in contrast, taking an objective, mathematical approach to shapes and form in order to articulate an unspoken feeling. In the spirit of this veiled, yet joyful optimism, his work aims to simply be nice. While interchangeable in his medium, at present he uses a ceramic slab building technique, creating lamps, totems, wall panels, vessels, and large format installations.