In Bushwick, commuters have paused to look at the portrait that honors the late Iryna Zarutaska, who was murdered last year in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In recent months, at the top of the 2nd Ave subway stop, there was a beautiful portrait of a pair of swans. A few blocks away on theIn Bushwick, commuters have paused to look at the portrait that honors the late Iryna Zarutaska, who was murdered last year in Charlotte, North Carolina.
These murals were all created by Ben Keller, a New York and Connecticut–based artist who has left an imprint across the city. Keller, a native of Herbon, Connecticut, spends his time between both Connecticut and New York making art for various organizations, companies and community spaces. Keller is a fine artist, most notably known for his eye-catching wall art on subways, hotels, and neighborhoods, along with his murals and canvases.
Keller knew from an early age that he was artistically gifted. His mother put him in drawing lessons when he was eight years old, where he learned artistic fundamentals and discovered how creative his imagination was. His love for art matured towards the end of middle school and the beginning of his freshman year. Keller’s 8th-grade teacher, Mrs. Sobol, remained one of his biggest inspirations and supporters along his artistic journey.
She was one of the reasons Keller decided to commit to art full-time in 2020, dropping out of Manchester Community College.
“It’s kind of ironic, because a lot of people, you know, their businesses fell through or didn’t work out,” Keller said. “They had to close shop. But then for others, including myself, up-and-coming entrepreneurs, or just people pursuing their passions, we were able to, I don’t know, like, unlock, but certain doors. I don’t know why, but that was the season for it.
”Keller previously spent his time taking jobs with coffee shops, clothing stores and trash companies to earn money while he did his art on the side. None of these jobs really amounted to anything, often resulting in Keller quitting. He wasn’t happy working for somebody and wanted to be self-employed. During the pandemic, Keller started to gain many opportunities to showcase his art and success from audiences, making his dream of becoming an entrepreneur seem attainable.
The piece that jump-started Keller’s career was a black-and-white mural of an Indian princess he painted on one of the walls at Sherekaan, a popular Indian restaurant in New Haven. The piece had a huge ripple effect in the community. Through this iconic mural, Keller attracted more clients and gained more buzz surrounding his art.
Keller has since completed murals in a dozen states, including New York, New Jersey, Florida and California, and has gained international recognition with work in France, Greece, Switzerland, Poland and Ecuador, as well as Puerto Rico. Not only has Keller’s art been featured all around the world but it has also opened gateways for him to explore and learn about new cultures.
Keller believes art is one of the most important and few tools in our society that allows humans from all backgrounds to come together and bond.
“It’s almost like food,” Keller said. “Food brings everyone together and breaks down divisions; art works the same way. I think creativity is almost encoded in our DNA — that feeling of building something from nothing, whether it’s a blank wall, a guitar, or a microphone. That’s a natural attraction people have toward public art.
Sometimes it changes people’s lives. ” Through art, Keller grew an appreciation for graffiti art and Black culture. He was introduced to both art forms by some of his friends in his hometown, but through adopting this new art style, he engaged with the culture more and even started consuming artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Art has significant meaning to both Keller and the audiences and communities his work engages with.
Even though Keller has been an artist for over two decades, he still doesn’t fully understand the deeper significance of his artistic creations at times and he doesn’t want to.
“There’s a term — a fish doesn’t know it’s in water until it’s out,” Keller said. “Sometimes I don’t even recognize that all I do is paint, because it’s just who I am. It’s not effortless, but it’s as natural as talking — it just keeps flowing and I can’t shut it off. It’s like a leaky faucet.
” Keller looks at art as an extension of his imagination and creativity and less of an intentional effort. He finds solace in how liberating and empowering the experience is when starting new projects. Although there are some quotas he has to meet to make a living, he emphasizes the pleasure he gets from leaving his mark behind by working on his own passion projects.
“With client work, I have to meet their expectations to pay the bills, but painting my own canvases, or even free murals like the swans at the subway station, that’s where I have total freedom,” Keller said. “No one’s telling me what to paint. That feels liberating. The funnest part is the process itself.
Once a piece is finished, it’s like, “All right, on to the next one. ” It’s always chasing that high. ” Keller’s inspiration for art comes from his Christian faith and his love for nature. He grew up in a rural farm town surrounded by forests, fields, cows, and horses.
This inspired one of his favorite pieces, which was a mural of his hometown on an old concrete grain silo that’s no longer in use, about a quarter mile from where he grew up. Keller also credits God for putting the desire in him to create and use his artistic abilities for good. Above the Second Avenue subway station, Keller’s “Twin Flames” mural has stopped more than a few hurried New Yorkers in their tracks.
The mural features two swans rendered in luminous detail. Their white feathers catching pinks, light purples, and blues carry a meaning that goes well beyond aesthetics. Swans, Keller explains, “stick together for life,” and once they find their mate, “they’re very loyal and stay by their side forever — they almost become like one unit. ” He chose the image deliberately for that location, understanding that in the middle of all that relentless subway energy, something softer was needed.
“That piece in particular, a lot of people resonated with it,” he reflected, “because it almost just brought this sense of peace and calm — you can take a breath and just take in something that isn’t controversial. ” Down the road, along the busy corridors of the Lower East Side, Keller’s “Serene Splendor” follows a similar theme of peace and tranquility as it greets passersby on the side of the Ridge Hotel on Eldridge Street with a quiet, arresting stillness.
The portrait of a Middle Eastern woman, veiled, her face tilted downward in a soft profile, feels almost like a whisper against the noisy city. Keller’s intention was for the warm tones and tranquil composition to draw people in, slow them down, and offer something rarely found on a New York City block: a moment of calm. This piece set the tone for the types of pieces he wanted to create in New York.
Keller has loved the feedback and support that he has received from the community and is motivated to continue to expand his reach. In ten years, he hopes to be represented in more galleries. Although he wants more gallery exposure, he will still always paint outdoors, because murals are accessible to everyone and he wants their message and impact to always be acknowledged.
“You don’t need to pay museum admission. It’s a public art gallery anyone can walk past, interact with, and appreciate,” Keller said.
“Beyond that, I just want my work to bring more love and peace, because there’s so much division in the world. I hope art can be a catalyst for that — whether it’s internal conflict in our country or abroad. And I hope it inspires more creatives to do the same. Not just visual artists, but musicians, journalists, podcasters — anyone using their voice, whether visual or audible, to put a message out there that people need to hear.
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