Benjamin Armstrong’s glass and wax sculptures slide between the homely and the uncanny. Writing about Conflict (Monash University Collection), 'in which a pair of eyeballs shaped from wax sit at the edge of an egg shaped table top supported by impossibly thin legs', Dr Kyla McFarlane noted that Armstrong triggers both an emotional and intellectual response in viewers … an ‘involuntary physical shudder of horror and delight registers deep in our own bodies’. Dr Kyla McFarlane, Swells and Shudders, Before the body - Matter 2006
Read MoreHis most recent exhibition Walking backwards to the place I come was his second solo exhibition at Tolarno Galleries. Showcasing hand blown glass sculptures alongside drawings made with Chinese ink and pigment, this exhibition coincided with the publication of Benjamin Armstrong: Holding a thread by Emblem Books. This beautifully illustrated book documents Armstrong’s work over the last decade and includes an essay by Juliana Engberg, Artistic Director, Australian Centre of Contemporary art and a Conversation with Curator Charlotte Day.
Born in 1975, Benjamin Armstrong lives and works in Melbourne. He has participated in numerous exhibitions including NEW09 at the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art, Melbourne and Primavera, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney 2006. In February this year his work was included in Before & After Science, the 2010 Biennale of Australian Art. His works are represented in key public and private collections including Monash University Museum of Art, The University of Queensland, Queensland Art Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Art Gallery of South Australia, Art Gallery of Western Australia and the British Museum, London.
Text courtesy Tolarno Galleries.