Ben Freeman

Artist Ben Freeman died in the early morning of February 27, 2026. A man of substance, he died with grace and dignity, just as he lived.

Born in Lumberton, North Carolina to parents Julius Peele Freeman and Judith Sarah (Eller) Freeman, his parents were both educators. When Ben spoke of his childhood, he recalled family times at the family’s summer home in the Outer Banks, his mother’s zeal for music and teaching, and his dad’s love of cars, a passion which Ben enjoyed throughout his life.

While still in high school, Ben founded a successful garage rock band, “The Villagers” which later became “The Inmates”, well known in the Raleigh music scene and beyond, recording several records and playing with The Beachboys and on a Presidential whistle stop tour.

At the School of Design/North Carolina State University Ben earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Architecture, and a Master Architecture degree. He went on to study in Paris at L'Ecole Grande Chaumiere, La Foundation Le Corbusier / Atelier Oubrerie, and later in the Fellowship Program at Harvard Graduate School of Design.

In 1995 Ben founded The Artist Building, a self-governing artist-owned live-work cooperative for visual artists in the heart of the vibrant Fort Point Arts Community in Boston, a meaningful project which ensured the availability of affordable housing for artists for many generations to come.

The artist Ben Freeman created large-scale multimedia constructions utilizing emotionally charged personal objects such as antique photographs, historical text, diaries, letters and journals. These elements are layered and structured to form a context that transcends time and feeds the human lust for immortality. The multi-media works incorporate a process of photomontage and collage, with large transparent photographs projected and developed directly onto the surface of the collaged underlayers. The lead base of the artwork often has cryptic inscriptions, emphasizing the theme as well as the power of human emotion, and asking questions which, more often than not, require an answer from the viewer rather than the artist.

Freeman’s work has been shown in selected group and solo exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including Salon Grands et Jeunes D'Aujourd, (Paris), Hubert Gallery (NYC), Westwood Gallery (NYC), Evan Lurie Gallery (IN), Kidder Smith Gallery (Boston), Art Miami, Art Chicago, Art Palm Beach, Art Southampton, Vorpal Gallery (NYC), Krakow Witkin Gallery (Boston), Chapel Art Center and Currier Museum of Art (NH), Lenore Gray Gallery (RI) and Kavachnina Gallery (Miami). His work remains in the permanent collection at Decordova Museum in Boston.

Freeman’s work is held in private collections including Ritz Carlton Residences (LA), Hotel Meridan Montpamasse (Paris), Reebok Corporation, Sheraton Corporation, Marchall Fields Corporation (TX), Bank of Tulsa (OK), The Boston Foundation and Hotel XV Beacon.

Ben is survived by his brother, Gerald Freeman of North Carolina, by his muse and soul mate Heather Connolly of Maine, and by his biggest admirers and young proteges, Oliver and Harrison Connolly. Ben also leaves behind many friends and countless people all over the world whose lives were touched and enriched by his presence in their circles.

Ben was the architect of his life. He created a stunning structure of passionate endeavors, thoughtful exploration and meaningful connections, a life well-lived. He loved and he was loved. He was a beautiful puzzle, a gifted artist who left his mark on the world.