Lynda Benglis Exhibition

Crescendo

Crescendo (1983-84/2014-15) has its origins in The Wave of the World, Lynda Benglis' first fountain, made in 1984. It was her first work in bronze and was presented for the first time at the International Exposition in Louisiana (New Orleans) in the same year. It was thought to be lost for years until it turned up in an old wastewater treatment plant in the city of Kenner, just over twenty kilometres from where it was originally installed. It was restored by the artist herself, who modified it to create the fountain we know today.

Benglis refers to this layered creation as: "crustaceans, similar to a shellfish or snail on top of an object, which they make their home". Crescendo is the greatest example of Benglis' famous frozen gesture: capturing an ephemeral, liquid moment into something solid and durable.

Pink Lady

Pink Lady (for Asha) (2013) is the only fountain in the exhibition made of polyurethane, with a striking fluorescent pink colour. Its rough surface is reminiscent of the piles of sand and mud expelled by crabs and crustaceans at the seashore. Benglis has spoken about this specifically: "The holes the crabs made were very important to me (...). Watching the flood waters, I saw how they extracted the mud and left large holes, sometimes thirty centimetres high, covered with bubbling mud. They had texture."

The sculpture is a tribute to Asha Sarabhai, sister-in-law of Lynda Benglis' late husband, Anand Sarabhai. Its bright pink colour is inspired by the colourful festival kites of Ahmedabad, her in-laws' city where she lived and worked. Throughout her career, Benglis has used bold, shiny materials, including gold and silver, as a counterpoint to the minimalist austerity with which she is often associated.

Bounty, Amber Waves, Fruited Plane

The titles of these three identical sources that form part of a single work (Bounty, Amber Waves and Fruited Plane) refer to the patriotic idea of the natural abundance of states. The last two are taken from the lyrics of the anthem "America the Beautiful".

About this sculpture, Lynda Benglis has said: "Water is abundant and plentiful. I think of Bounty as a living and constant development or an explosion of frozen water inside the bronze, water that, although frozen, overflows."

Rising eight metres from the ground, these are Benglis' tallest works to date. Made by an accumulation of identical elements, resting precariously on top of each other and holding an empty plate directed towards the sky, these columns remind us of Brancusi's Colonne sans fin on the verge of losing its balance.