Lynda Benglis | Artnet (original) (raw)

(American, born 1941)

Biography

Lynda Benglis is an American artist best known for her use of poured sculptural forms made from wax, latex, metal, and foam. From the 1960s onwards, Benglis’ work has engaged with both the physicality and process of material-based practices while simultaneously confronting femininity in the context of a male-dominated art world. "My work is an expression of space. What is the experience of moving? Is it pictorial? Is it an object? Is it a feeling?” she has said. “It all comes from my body.” In addition to her sculptural work, she has produced both video and photographs—including the controversial and iconic advertisement in a 1974 issue of Artforum, depicting herself nude and posing with a large dildo. Born on October 25, 1941 in Lake Charles, LA, she received her BFA from Newcomb College in New Orleans in 1964 before moving to New York where she met artists like Sol Lewitt, Eva Hesse, Donald Judd, and Barnett Newman. Today, Benglis’ works are found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others. The artist lives and works between New York, NY, Santa Fe, NM, and Ahmedabad, India.