{"id":217742,"date":"2026-05-02T16:07:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T16:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/217742\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T16:07:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T16:07:42","slug":"ben-keller-is-redefining-public-art-in-new-york-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/217742\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Keller is redefining public art in New York City"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 the Lower East Side,<\/a> The Ridge Hotel greeted guests with a beautiful mural of a Middle Eastern Woman.<\/p>\n

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. These murals were all created by Ben Keller, a New York and Connecticut\u2013based artist who has left an imprint across the city.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of ironic, because a lot of people, you know, their businesses fell through or didn\u2019t work out,\u201d Keller said. \u201cThey 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\u2019t know, like, unlock, but certain doors. I don\u2019t know why, but that was the season for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

The piece that jump-started Keller\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>A mural by Ben Keller.<\/p>\n

Not only has Keller\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost like food,\u201d Keller said. \u201cFood brings everyone together and breaks down divisions; art works the same way. I think creativity is almost encoded in our DNA \u2014 that feeling of building something from nothing, whether it\u2019s a blank wall, a guitar, or a microphone. That\u2019s a natural attraction people have toward public art. Sometimes it changes people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t fully understand the deeper significance of his artistic creations at times and he doesn\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a term \u2014 a fish doesn\u2019t know it\u2019s in water until it\u2019s out,\u201d Keller said. \u201cSometimes I don\u2019t even recognize that all I do is paint, because it\u2019s just who I am. It\u2019s not effortless, but it\u2019s as natural as talking \u2014 it just keeps flowing and I can\u2019t shut it off. It\u2019s like a leaky faucet.\u201d<\/p>\n

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,\u00a0 he emphasizes the pleasure he gets from leaving his mark behind by working on his own passion projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith 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\u2019s where I have total freedom,\u201d Keller said. \u201cNo one\u2019s telling me what to paint. That feels liberating. The funnest part is the process itself. Once a piece is finished, it\u2019s like, \u201cAll right, on to the next one.\u201d It\u2019s always chasing that high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keller\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Above the Second Avenue subway station, Keller\u2019s \u201cTwin Flames\u201d 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, \u201cstick together for life,\u201d and once they find their mate, \u201cthey\u2019re very loyal and stay by their side forever \u2014 they almost become like one unit.\u201d He chose the image deliberately for that location, understanding that in the middle of all that relentless subway energy, something softer was needed. \u201cThat piece in particular, a lot of people resonated with it,\u201d he reflected, \u201cbecause it almost just brought this sense of peace and calm \u2014 you can take a breath and just take in something that isn\u2019t controversial.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Down the road, along the busy corridors of the Lower East Side, Keller\u2019s \u201cSerene Splendor\u201d 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t need to pay museum admission. It\u2019s a public art gallery anyone can walk past, interact with, and appreciate,\u201d Keller said. \u201cBeyond that, I just want my work to bring more love and peace, because there\u2019s so much division in the world. I hope art can be a catalyst for that \u2014 whether it\u2019s 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 \u2014 anyone using their voice, whether visual or audible, to put a message out there that people need to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can follow Keller\u2019s art journey on Instagram @benkellerct<\/a>\n<\/p>\n