IMAGES: BEN DENZER
There’s more to New York artist, book designer, and publisher Ben Denzer (born 1992) than a slew of impressive credits. Yes, he’s a Princeton graduate who worked as a book cover designer for Penguin Art Group. Yes, he’s taught at RISD and served as an artist-in-residence at Harvard. But what intrigues us is the way he uses groceries to make great art.
We love how he made people drool over his veggie Hermès Birkin bags and books of deli meats. His photography series @ice_cream_books was described by Bella Hadid as “the most important Instagram out there today.” We speculate that he’s drawn many people to books – including those who’d rather look at them than read them.
Our favorite collections
Hermès fruit and vegetable Birkin bags, 2021
Denzer’s vegetable Birkin bags look so good that even Hermès reposted them. Here are the ones made out of asparagus, cucumber, cabbage, and an apple version that didn’t make the cut.
Images: Ben Denzer
Catalog press, 2018 to present
When most of us see a package of Kraft American singles, we usually think of lunch box sandwiches. But when Denzer picks one up, he sees inspiration. “I thought it was basically already a book (already a collection of pages). All I had to do to emphasize that fact was to bind it together, make a cover and a title,” he told The Back Table.
Images: Ben Denzer, Catalog Press
Ice Cream Books, 2006 to present
Not sure if you like to read your novels or lick them? Then check out Denzer’s series of colorful photographs of ice cream placed creatively on top of, under, or inside books. American art critic Hal Foster considers it “better than Marx’s utopia.”
Images: Ben Denzer, Ice Cream Books
Where to find his work
On Instagram, Denzer’s website, The Met, The Guggenheim, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the University of Oxford. His work has been recognized by the Type Directors Club, the Art Directors Club, Young Guns 16, Society of Illustrators, AIGA, BIGNY, AI-AP, and The New York Times.
