Make Ready Series’ & Singular Work
Artist Statement
For over thirty years, I designed brand image graphics in Santa Monica. While supervising print jobs, I discovered make-readies—test sheets with unintentional layers of ink from disparate, unrelated jobs. These captivated me and became the foundation for my visual exploration beyond my day work.
The iterative process that grew from my digital design experience became what enthralls me still—the excitement of discovering variations while essentially improvising, not unlike a jazz musician.
Both sides of my education—degrees in art history, painting and drawing, and communication design with decades of offset printing experience—converged into something fresh and exhilarating. A doorway into the art world.
I've always been drawn to repetition and variation—Monet painting the same haystack again and again, capturing different light and moments. Or Warhol repeating Marilyn's face in shifting colors. Monet chased something almost spiritual in perception; Warhol took a different approach, intentionally stripping away emotion into flat advertising sensibility. My work lives somewhere between those impulses, occupying mostly the abstract part of the spectrum.
Using typography in design, I was fascinated with how layered fonts became fragments interacting with images. This became my visual language. I called this work "well-involved vacant structures," after seeing a press sheet fragment with words relating to firefighting. "Well-involved" suggested the multitude of layered imagery; "vacant structures" implied the abstract nature of mostly indecipherable messaging.
I later realized "make-ready" echoed Duchamp's "readymades"—unintentional, but a wink to art history. Whereas Duchamp took finished everyday objects and declared them art through recontextualized appropriation, I use abstract fragments never meant to be seen together, finding inspiration in what was destined for recycling.
Each series began as a singular work. The iterations exist as digital files awaiting the printing of editions.
–Benj Čziller, Ojai CA
Make Ready. (Singular Works), polychrome pigments, dyes, encaustic, canvas.
GIVE ME AN S / 2014 / 52 x 52
SKYLINE / 2017 / 46x62
LITERATURE / 2016 / 46 x 46
Soda Maker / 2017 / 36x36
D TUNNL / 2019 / 52 x 52' & 32 x 32" / 1200. & 800.
TYPESCAPE ~ 52 x 78" & 32 x 48"
Faux Manifesto 1. 52 x 65" & 32 x 40"
GrandElvis / 52 x 52" & 32 x 32" / 1200. & 800.
Gestural Works
Artist’s Statement
These works originate from small format acrylic action paintings on colored paint chips. They were scanned and worked further with the addition of illusional recessed panels then enlarged to create a limited edition of nine (9) each as archival polychrome prints on canvas.
I'm Too Reactive
Mid Century
Hot Day in The Garden
Tidal
Spearmint
The Woods 24 x 30 - Archival polychrome paper veneers on birch panels.
Lyrica
Whisps
Spikey Hover
Dreamer Bardo
aboritual
Attach Photos
Line Disruptor
Outta the Box
Wild Grain
Alien Hives
Lemon Chiffon
Next level Camo
Fame Backs, Archival Polychrome Prints on birch panels.
Bird Guitar Flowers
Waves
Dusty Chip
M or Columns
Schwitters Homage
Black Moon Sliver Black Rain with Wire
Asia Talking
Dusty Vase
Covered wagon
Floras
GibberText
Split Personality
Mouth & Beak & Mask
Floral Altar
Black Cloud Swirls
Water Vessel
Well-Involved Structures
GibberText 2
GibberText 3
A piece of cardboard with strips of orange paper and shredded paper attached, with a bunch of orange rubber bands arranged in a vertical line in the center.
A top-down view of a wastebasket filled with crumpled papers, colored paper strips, and paper clips.
A spiral wire on top of a beige book, an orange piece of paper, and a black and white photo or print, all arranged on a textured light-colored surface.
Low Hanging
Abstract wall art with geometric shapes and lines in black, white, red, and orange on a wooden background.
Black and white abstract landscape prints on rectangular paper pieces placed on a brown background, with visible text and textures.
5.
Dark cut-out paper pieces with white text arranged on a light-colored surface. The pieces contain words and phrases such as 'Ask gas,' 'But then,' 'You,' 'It,' 'Nope,' 'Use the words,' 'And don't worry about yourself,' and others, forming a fragmented visual message.
A white paper folded in a shield shape on a white wall, with shadow cast on the wall.
A black envelope partially opened, revealing several thank you cards inside, placed on a wooden surface.
A wooden table with a set of blank white cards that have black outlines of rectangular shapes on them, arranged in a fan-like manner.
A collage of various cut-out papers on a light-colored surface, including solid colors, patterns, and a small wire spiral.
12
A sheet of paper with handwritten black ink splatters and streaks, placed on a wooden surface with faint pencil markings.
18. Original and Prints available.
19. Original and Prints available.
20. Sold (prints available)
A collage of torn paper pieces with printed text, arranged on a dark striped background.
Abstract collage with layered paper strips in black, orange, green, and translucent colors arranged in a cross-like pattern on a light background.
Not available
Disassembled electronic device with a black square that has the word 'serve' written on it, various small pieces of wires, a piece of cardboard, and other small components scattered on a white surface.
Abstract digital image with a textured background and geometric shapes in black and orange, with some text partially visible on the right side.
Stack of cardboard boxes with black markings on the edges, placed on a table with brown and beige backgrounds.
Colorful abstract art and geometric shapes on paper, including circles, lines, and text, resting on a wooden surface.
26
27
Vertical row of abstract black and white paint splatters on a rectangular canvas.
33
34
Collage of paper pieces with partial text and numbers on a wooden surface, with some torn edges and geometric shapes in white, orange, and black.
Several pieces of torn and cut paper in various shades of beige, orange, and brown arranged on a wooden surface.
Abstract geometric collage with various shapes including triangles, circles, lines, and rectangles in black, white, and shades of red and orange, arranged on a flat surface.
Close-up of a wooden surface with dust or debris on it, with some peeling paint or material along the edges.
A pile of cut-out paper pieces with various colors and patterns, some with text like 'on' and 'Obses' on a beige background.
Open books laid out on a table, with their pages fanned out.
13
Abstract artwork with black, red, and gray paint splatters and strokes on a textured surface.
A rectangular wooden block painted with black and white stripes, with a yellow band across the middle, placed on a surface with a two-tone background.
Make Ready. (Representationals) Polychrome pigment on stretched canvas.
"Elba" 24x24 / Canvas Giclee / Signed Limited Edition of 5. 600. Enhanced giclee mounted to wood cradle.
"Man In a Suitcase" 24x24 / Canvas Giclee / Signed Limited Edition of 5. 600. Enhanced giclee mounted to wood cradle.
"Window Shopping". 24x24 / Canvas Giclee / Signed Limited Edition of 5. 600. Enhanced giclee mounted to wood cradle.
"GQ Twins" 18x38 / Canvas Giclee / Signed Limited Edition of 5. 1200. Enhanced giclee mounted to wood cradle.