Recognised for redefining sculpture in the 1960s, Benglis’ work challenges the notions of form, gesture, and materiality that were established by Minimalism, arguably the dominant artistic current of that time. Throughout her extensive and consistent research, Benglis’s work has always questioned rules and limitations pertaining to the body, the image, and the art-making processes.
Her career has developed across various mediums, and her sculptural practice is known for its radical use of materials such as latex and polyurethane, its entropic process of organising colours and abstraction, and its approach to removing matter in order to form an image. Benglis’ work reflects the freedom of materials that take their form almost independently from the artist’s agency, the possibilities inherent in the transformation of matter, and the human need to question the unknown.
With her celebrated ‘pours’, Benglis creates a sculpture method that follows the process of painting while challenging accepted notions of perspective. Benglis incited political, aesthetic, and philosophical experiences throughout her practices, including in her experimental films that explore gender and sexuality.
Lynda Benglis (Louisiana, 1941) lives and works in Santa Fe.
Her work is included in numerous museums and public collections worldwide, including Centre Pompidou, Paris / Dallas Museum of Art, Texas / Jewish Museum, New York / Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York / Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois / Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California / The Museum of Modern Art, New York / Serralves Museum, Porto / Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. / Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York / Tate Modern, London / Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Courtesy Mendes Wood DM

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