The Sunley Gallery presents three recent sculptures by Lynda Benglis, an artist featured in the upstairs exhibition 'Beyond Form: Lines of Abstraction 1950–1970'.
Born in 1941 in Louisiana, Lynda Benglis challenged the status quo of painting and sculpture and transcended the boundaries of a predominantly male-dominated art world. Benglis is celebrated for her innovative use of materials such as beeswax, resin, and polyurethane foam. Her pioneering techniques, including the pigmented latex pours akin to Abstract Expressionist paintings, brought her international recognition in the late 1960s.
Lynda Benglis’ recent polished bronze sculptures, arise from her deep investigation into knotted forms. They evolved from clay models to their digitally transformed bronze counterparts, allowing the works to retain the intimate touch of the artist’s hand. The reflective surfaces evoke the fluidity of liquid forms, interacting with both light and space. The sculptures cement Benglis’ reputation as one of the most influential artists working today.
“Everything is a knot, you know, like a growing plant is a knot, a body is a knot, every embryo is a knot. And I began to think, what is form? It’s a growth. It’s a continuation. It’s an expansion. It’s a butterfly. It’s a cocoon. It expands and it flies away. It flies out, you know, but it also contains energy.” From the oral history interview with Lynda Benglis, 2009 November 20, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
February 3, 2024
