Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Muskegon Community College’s Overbrook Gallery is preparing to welcome acclaimed artist Benjamin Duke for an exhibition of his works titled “Chance Factor: A Situation of Meanings”. The showcase will be on display November 10 through December 11, 2025*, while the campus and community are invited to attend the Opening Reception and Gallery Talk with the artist on Thursday, November 13, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Overbrook Gallery.

Benjamin Duke’s work explores the boundaries between narrative, philosophy, and the painted image. Known for his large-scale figurative paintings and metaphorical, story-rich compositions, Duke’s art often bridges the visual and the literary, the personal and the universal. His projects also extend into the public realm through mural installations, reflecting his ongoing engagement with art’s role in dialogue and community spaces.

“Benjamin Duke’s paintings invite us to look beyond the surface—to see how meaning is constructed through chance, experience, and imagination,” said Erin Hoffman, Director of Overbrook Gallery. “We are incredibly proud to welcome him to MCC. His work offers our students and the wider community a chance to experience how art can challenge, question, and inspire new ways of thinking about narrative and meaning.”

The exhibition and gallery talk are free and open to the public.

For more information about the exhibition or the Overbrook Gallery’s upcoming events, please contact Erin Hoffman at hoffmane@muskegoncc.edu.

About the Artist: Benjamin Swallow Duke was born in Louisville, Kentucky and grew up in Utah. He studied Literature, Philosophy and Art at the University of Utah receiving his BFA in 2002. He received his Master of Fine Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore Hoffberger School of Painting, and has been teaching painting and drawing at Michigan State University since 2006. Duke has had numerous Solo, and Group shows at the national and international level including at the Fitton Art Center in Hamilton, Ohio, “Weak Painting Group,” exhibitions at The Kuandu Museum of Fine Art in Taipei and Da Xiang Art Space in Taichung City, Taiwan, and Several Solo exhibitions at Ann Nathan Gallery in Chicago. Duke’s work is represented by Gallery Victor Armendariz, a well-established and respected downtown Chicago Gallery with a focus on contemporary realism. Duke has also been awarded international residencies at Bamboo Curtain Studios, Taiwan from May to July 2009 and The Kuandu Museum of Fine Art December 2009 through January 2010 at Taipei National University of the Arts, the premier Art University in Taiwan. A Catalogue entitled: Benjamin Duke 2001-2010: Ten years of Work with essays by Brian Kubarycz, a scholar of contemporary literature, and Su YuAnn, an independent curator and critic, published by Garden City Publishing in June 2010.
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