![](https://i0.wp.com/theresourceexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Rodrigo-SearchingbytheRiver-11x14-Ben-Rodrigo.png?fit=1200%2C940&ssl=1)
Ben is a young queer artist living in Philadelphia. He works in painting, illustration, collage, installation, floral design and sculpture from natural materials. Visually, his work displays notions of whimsy and vibrant electric colors, frequently depicting fantastical spreads of the natural world or decorated scenes of imagined spaces. His collage work utilizes an eclectic mix of repurposed imagery from found materials. Or his work may be a reused piece of wood with a new idea painted onto it. Repurposing materials and being thrifty is definitely a way that Ben’s work creates a familiarity that calls to memories of the past.