Bursting, the inflated peace sign meets a blade of grass.
A pack of wild dogs gather in the parking lot and howl.
The magician lays his wand down and picks up a mechanical pencil.

Mystery is full. We are really here. At the gateway. 
Preparing the ground (movements off stage), making room for it.
Here in the squinting, in the groping forth.

How come we haven’t seen a picture of a star yet? 

Sun chaser 
Midwest tripper
Holy son beyond the spectrum
Born of visitations 
Flower shafts bent in moonlight
Portals left open

The lime sits in the ashtray 
Cicadas acknowledge the air  
Fortune is palpable, even likely 

We’re banking on it, while seeing it through. 
Holding stacks of cash, and some crushed up herbs. 
“Villains of necessity, and Fools by heavenly compulsion” 

My other car is a painting, and my other painting is wholly invisible.  
Night is not the only mask covering eyes.
Beneath the face of order is a smaller, funnier face 
Grinning. 

How come we’ve never seen a picture of a star? 

-Iggy Capra 

Ben Quinn (b. 1991 Dayton, OH, 9:39am) is an artist living and working in Los Angeles, CA. Quinn’s work deals primarily with imaginative introspection towards the extramundane through painting and image, sometimes accompanied by installation and sound. Recent solo exhibitions include Sebastian Gladstone (Los Angeles), Pt. 2 (Oakland), Fused Space (San Francisco), and Littman Gallery at Portland State University. He collaborated with Acne Studios in 2021 for the Women's Spring/Summer runway collection, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions. Quinn received an MFA from California College of the Arts in 2016.