Lynda Benglis (American, b.1941) is a sculptor best known for her incorporation of unusual materials that question traditional notions of the feminine. Born in Lake Charles, LA, Benglis earned a BFA from Newcomb College in New Orleans in 1964, and studied at the Brooklyn Museum School of Art in New York during the following year.
Her early works include wax paintings and a series of
Fallen Paintings, which she created by pouring colored latex onto the floor. Benglis’s range of sculptural materials expanded to include polyurethane foam, cast aluminum, bronze, and plaster. In the 1970s, she produced a series of
Torsos, cast aluminum shells that jut out from the wall, and
Knots, brightly colored ribbons that resemble human figures in motion. Her sculptural work is influenced by Abstract Expressionism, Color Field painting, and Minimalism. She has also produced work in video and photography, including a controversial advertisement in the 1974 issue of
Artforum, which showed the artist posing nude in a provocative manner. Benglis seeks to challenge a male-dominated discourse in art by creating work that is sensual, body-oriented, and decorative. Her work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, NY; The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN; and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. She is represented by the
Cheim & Read gallery in New York.
The artist currently works in New York, NY, and Santa Fe, NM.