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Lynda Benglis

Past Exhibition

June 18, 2021 – January 2, 2022
East Building, Mezzanine

In the late 1960s, American artist Lynda Benglis (b. 1941) expanded coordinates of media and gender with her bold, physical, and tactile works. Over the course of her groundbreaking career, she has forged new paths through her endless explorations of different techniques, materials, and mediums. Bringing together 33 of Benglis’s sculptures, paintings, drawings, prints, and videos—most given to the National Gallery by Dorothy and Herbert Vogel—this exhibition reveals the innovations of a critical figure who has influenced generations of artists.

Virtual Tour

Selected Works

Untitled, 1971, purified pigmented beeswax, dammar resin, and gesso on particle board, The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, Patrons' Permanent Fund and Gift of Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, 1991.241.31

Drawing #27, 1979, collage of tissue paper, fabric, string, plastic film, metallic paper, wash, crayon, and felt-tip pen, with embossing on handmade Gandhi Ashram paper, The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, Patrons' Permanent Fund and Gift of Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, 1991.241.32

Phool, 1980, plaster over bronze wire mesh with gold leaf, The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, Patrons' Permanent Fund and Gift of Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, 1991.241.35

Pani Rang, 1981, watercolor and ink with block printing on handmade Gandhi Ashram paper, The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, Patrons' Permanent Fund and Gift of Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, 1991.241.38

Sparkle Knot XII, 1972, aluminum wire mesh, cotton bunting, plaster, paint, and glitter, Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, 2007.6.90

Jeantaud, 1986, aluminum wire mesh with sprayed zinc and aluminum, Corcoran Collection (Gift of the Women's Committee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and Museum Purchase with the aid of funds from the National Endowment for the Arts), 2015.19.3921

Untitled, 1968, poured pigmented latex, Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, 2016.11.2

Sacred Meal, 2001, aluminum and copper wire coils covered with translucent, pigmented abaca paper, Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, 2019.154.1
This rectangular, tangerine-orange panel has rounded corners and a black dot at the center. It hangs on a dove gray wall and is about three times as tall as it is wide. The surface appears streaked with golden yellow where light reflects off some areas of the wax, especially in the top half.

1st Wax Work, 1966, purified pigmented beeswax, dammar resin, and powdered aniline dye on Masonite, Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, 2016.11.4

In the Beginning, 1966, encaustic on canvas, Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, 2007.6.89

Organization
The exhibition is organized by Molly Donovan, curator of contemporary art, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

Passes
Admission is always free and passes are not required.

Banner detail: Lynda Benglis, Phool, 1980, plaster, bronze wire, and gold, The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, Patrons' Permanent Fund and Gift of Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, 1991.241.35