Bio
Ben Rak is an artist, curator, and educator based in Sydney, Australia. Born in California, he works across primarily painting and printmaking to explore themes of identity, performativity, and transformation.
Rak holds a PhD in Art, Design and Media (2025) from UNSW Art & Design, where his research investigated the performed self in contemporary art and social life. He also holds a Master of Fine Art (2013), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking with first-class Honours (2009), all from UNSW.
Between 2012 and 2022, Rak lectured in printmaking at UNSW Art & Design, and has curated a number of touring and exchange exhibitions, including collaborations with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (USA) and Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (Pakistan). His curatorial work often addresses the metaphorical potential of print processes and their ability to traverse material and conceptual boundaries.
Rak’s practice engages with the painting and the print acting as sites of contested identity, probing the medium’s capacity to slip between forms and signify multiple selves.
Rak holds a PhD in Art, Design and Media (2025) from UNSW Art & Design, where his research investigated the performed self in contemporary art and social life. He also holds a Master of Fine Art (2013), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking with first-class Honours (2009), all from UNSW.
Between 2012 and 2022, Rak lectured in printmaking at UNSW Art & Design, and has curated a number of touring and exchange exhibitions, including collaborations with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (USA) and Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (Pakistan). His curatorial work often addresses the metaphorical potential of print processes and their ability to traverse material and conceptual boundaries.
Rak’s practice engages with the painting and the print acting as sites of contested identity, probing the medium’s capacity to slip between forms and signify multiple selves.