Cooper Union

Benjamin Degen

Adjunct Instructor

Benjamin Degen (b. 1976 Brooklyn, NY) makes works in painting, drawing and sculpture that are an interplay between elements of Western and Eastern classical aesthetic traditions as well as American folk art, abstraction, architecture and typography. Degen received his Bachelors in Fine Arts from The Cooper Union School of Art and Science. Degen has exhibited work internationally and has pieces included in the collections of the Nerman Museum, The Collezione Maramotti and the Museum of Modern Art. He is represented in New York City by Susan Inglett Gallery.

Lucky Ones, 60 x 84 in., Oil and spray enamel on canvas, 2017 — *Lucky Ones*, 60 x 84 in., Oil and spray enamel on canvas, 2017

Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.
“My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”
From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.
Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.