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Ben Marcin
"Last House Standing"

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Baltimore, MD, 2010/2012, Archival pigment print, courtesy of the artist & C. Grimaldis Gallery

Artist Statement
One of the architectural quirks of cities on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. is the solo row house. Standing isolated, often in some of the worst neighborhoods, these nineteenth-century structures were once attached to similar residences that made up entire city blocks. Time and major demographic changes have resulted in the decay and demolition of many such blocks. Occasionally, one dwelling is spared—literally cut off from its neighbors and left to the elements with whatever time it has left. My interest in these solitary buildings is not only in their ghostly beauty, but also in their odd, almost defiant, placement in the urban landscape. Often three stories high, they were clearly not designed to stand-alone like this. And then there's the lingering question of why a single row house was allowed to remain upright. Still retaining traces of its former glory, the last house standing is often still occupied.

Artist Bio
Most of my photographic essays explore the idea of home and the passing of time. “Last House Standing” and “The Camps” have received wide press both nationally and abroad (The Paris Review, iGnant, La Repubblica, Slate, Wired Magazine). My photographs have been shown at a number of national galleries and venues including the Delaware Art Museum; The Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA; The Center For Fine Art Photography in Ft. Collins, CO; The Corden | Potts Gallery in San Francisco and Johalla Projects in Chicago. “Last House Standing (And Other Stories)” was featured earlier this year in a large solo exhibit at the C. Grimaldis Gallery in Baltimore, where I am currently represented. My work is also in several important collections including the Baltimore Museum of Art.