Lynda Benglis

May 9, 2006, Philadelphia, PA— A selection of Lynda Benglis’s wall sculpture in various media will be on view at Locks Gallery from May 19 through June 30, 2006. There will be an opening reception Friday, May 19, 2006 from 5:30-7:30pm. Admission is free and open to the public.

The sculptures exhibited in Pleated, Knotted and Poured were created between 1972 and 1990. Consistent themes throughout this period include a fascination with the body and an idiosyncratic approach to feminism and formalism. As the artist progressed from simple, knotted forms composed of cotton bunting and wire mesh to elaborately constructed, precision-edged metallic sculpture in the 1980s--she shaped the material to entirely original and independent purposes. Seemingly opposite sensations are triggered by the works--surfaces appear both flexible and rigid, organic and artificial.

Lynda Benglis has been creating challenging and influential work since the 1960s. Her constant experimentation with materials and processes has produced in the words of a recent exhibition review, “some of the most important images in art of the late 20th century." Benglis's work has had a profound influence on younger artists and more generally expanded the parameters for contemporary sculpture.

Lynda Benglis is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1975); two NEA grants (1979, 1990). Her work is in numerous public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, NY; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gallery, Washington, DC; the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, the Philadelphia Museum of Art; and the Guggenheim Museum, NY.