Ben Cowan
Circumambulations
On View 24/7: November 6, 2025 – January 8, 2026
at Main Window Dumbo
1 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Circumambulation is the act of walking around something, often in a ritualistic context. The paintings in this series are modular and activate the space where they hang. There is also a looping animation component, allowing the works to live in a kind of digital afterlife. The motion of the objects contained within the frames and their framing of sacred architecture, refer to how we create systems to understand death, grief, and loss, through things like metaphor and ritual, and simultaneously reflect on the hope of rebirth and continuing cycles of life. 

A link to Circumambulation animations here.

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Ben Cowan was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from Indiana University. The artist can be spotted examining plants and buildings as he walks to and from his studio in Brooklyn, New York. Occupationally, Cowan has worked in the studio of Jeff Koons and presently as a Scenic Artist for motion pictures, both roles have increased Cowan’s resolve for refined painting techniques, experimentation with process, and a keen eye for illusions. In his work, Cowan draws inspiration from urban landscapes and gothic architecture, blending observed places, personal objects, and religious abstractions to create paintings that bridge reality and illusion, personifying the interpersonal and the supernatural.

Cowan’s work has been shown in solo and group shows throughout the United States including New York City’s Deanna Evans Projects, 550 Gallery, The Painting Center, and Spring Break Art Show. He has been featured by Manifest Gallery’s International Painting Annual and The Brooklyn Review, and also mentioned in articles from cultbytes.com, The Wall Street Journal, and Vice.com. Cowan’s work is in private and public collections including The University of Scranton, Ann Arbor District Library in Michigan, and The Rockefeller Archive Center in Sleepy Hollow, NY.