Ben Osawe was born to be a sculptor. His father was a wood carver in the court of Oba Iweka II, and his earliest memories are of modeling with mud at the bank of the River Niger. His early Western art education started at the Government Primary School, Benin City (1947 – 48) under an unidentified Asaba art master who was on the permanent pay roll of, Edo College.

He studied art later at the school of Graphic Art for a year before moving to the Camberwell School of Art, (1957 – 61). In 1960, his works were exhibited at the Picadilly Gallery, London along with artists such as Henry Moore and other notable European artists.

Osawe, who represents the breed of modernists whose college training has helped in the rationalization of the unwritten oral rules of design and form in traditional art for conscious application to modem art.
In 1976 he relocated to Benin to find peace and inspiration.  This obviously paid off because he has since then produced some of the best sculptures Nigeria has had the pleasure to behold, working in a wide variety of media including cement, wood, clay and metal.