Fletcher Benton: An American Artist

by Ratcliff, Carter; Chattopadhyay, Collette; Leisegang, Jolei; Selz, Peter

• ISBN13: 9781555952969
• ISBN10: 1555952968
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-09-16
• Publisher: Hudson Hills

Summary

When looking at one of Fletcher Benton's pieces, the careening angles and juxtaposition of large blocks playing against the smaller delicate elements are striking, creating a chaos of impending motion. It is no coincidence that what first brought this artist international recognition was his career as a kinetic artist bringing motion to his pieces with battery-powered motors. After abruptly ending that period after thirty years, Benton has since then embraced sculpture, attracting the attention of museums and collectors from California to Italy with commissions for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C to the Whitney Museum's Annual Review. A geometric sculptor whose forms invoke grids, crystals, and the structural logic of architecture allows his sculptures to hold their own \ amid the glass and steel towers of the contemporary city\ while being equally relevant in the vineyards and fields where they are also displayed. In this artist's monograph, Benton's lifework is discussed in three different essays each focusing on a different period in his career. A truly comprehensive examination of this American artist's career and how his work fits into the art timeline of the twentieth century. A full chronology, selected exhibitions and bibliography are also included to this examination of Benton's sculpture.