Ben Frost | Among the Petals

Frost’s current interests lie in examining the technological fabric of his live performance career: investigating the sculptural possibilities of (often obsolete) stage technologies, including PA speaker systems, standardized backline rental elements (guitar and bass amplifiers), stage lighting, and visual effects. Frost is particularly interested in analogue strobe lighting units, which, due to the mass adoption of LED lighting systems, have been recently become redundant; the “Martin Atomic 3000” is a staple of music performances for 25 years. By repurposing these strobes, he transforms instruments of spectacle into brushes of light, producing layered, evolving compositions directly onto walls and other architectural surfaces. In this work, the wall becomes a canvas, with the strobe both pigment and gesture. Marrying the idiosyncratic qualities of aging lamps with highly controlled digital sequencing and programming via Max/MSP will form a visual vocabulary that exists between performance, installation, and painting.

The visual language of this work mirrors Frost’s approach to sound and is a direct extension of it, reclaiming another of the tools that have defined his live performance career, now as a tactile, visual medium. Lights will be rigged in modular arrays across wall and floor surfaces, and, critically, inverted against them, creating patterns that are simultaneously contained as two-dimensional surfaces, but whose effects permeate through spaces.

A critical element of the project is color. Frost will reclaim a now-outdated color system of “gel scrollers” and develop custom gels that fracture and bend the monochrome intensity of strobe light into new, hybrid, non-binary palettes. These colors will be layered across walls to expand the expressive range of the light gestures. Meanwhile, the mechanical hum, click, and discharge of the aging strobes will be integrated into the work as an essential component, rendering sound inseparable from light and revealing another invisible layer of the “live music” paradigm.

SPACE

This project sits at the intersection of sculpture, installation, and expanded painting, extending Frost’s long-term interest in transforming performance technologies into sculptural and experiential media. Unlike sound, which can often be developed in smaller studios or often in headphones, the nature and visual scale of this work require extended periods of experimentation in a large white wall space. The Onassis AiR residency would allow Frost to develop a nuanced vocabulary of light-oriented gestures, culminating in regular public activations after hours in the studio space, as well as large-format quasi-photographic documentation. The residency space would function as both laboratory and exhibition site, enabling full-scale testing prior to broader presentation.

AMONG THE PETALS

Concurrently, Frost proposes to develop a new edition of his acclaimed installation, “Among the Petals.” This work explores sound and sound technology as a physical, sculptural medium, and the interplay between sound, space, and perception. Originally conceived as a large-scale, site-responsive sound installation, it uses simple sonic material rippling along a re-imagined line array system now standing 3 stories high as a gigantic organism. Frost’s new version will respond directly to the architecture of the available installation space.

RESIDENCY AT ONASSIS AiR

Frost is at a crucial point of transformation in his work: simultaneously breaking new ground and yet returning to his beginnings as a painter. A born collaborator, he is dedicated to fostering dialogue and collaboration within the foundation’s creative community. He views creative exchange as a vital part of sustaining a shared cultural legacy, and as a long-time recipient of mentorship, he also believes transmission of artistic knowledge and values is a vital and integral part of the artist’s journey.

Frost is looking to re-engage with a new creative community in Athens after spending extensive periods working in isolation. The Onassis AiR and Onassis Ready spaces, located in the heart of the city and surrounded by a vibrant network of artists, offer precisely this kind of exchange.

Committed to supporting the next generation of artists, Frost plans to maintain an open studio policy, welcoming younger artists to observe, engage, and participate in ongoing discussions about process and practice. His studio space will serve as a dynamic environment for dialogue, reflection, and the continuous evolution of ideas; a space where learning and collaboration naturally intertwine.