YARES ART is pleased to present FLETCHER BENTON: A to Z, on view in Santa Fe, June 7–July 27, 2019. This extraordinary exhibition surveys and honors the long and distinguished career of Fletcher Benton, an iconic American sculptor. The Ohio-born, California-based artist, now 87, burst upon the art scene in the 1960s with a series of kinetic sculptures incorporating elements of light that were among the most advanced experiments in sculpture of the day. He went on to produce remarkable abstract compositions in metal that were, and remain today, powerful visual statements that are both elegant and intellectually engaging.

On view in the exhibition are some sixty major works that span Benton’s six-decade career. Many pieces on view have never been shown in New York, offering the rare opportunity to reassess the achievement of one of the country’s most inventive and consistently challenging artists, whose formidable contribution to contemporary art has been recognized internationally.

Among the show’s highlights are the provocative kinetic works from his “Synchronetic” series, which early on in his career brought him critical acclaim. The mesmerizing orchestrations of light and shadow, as well as the evolving movement, inherent in these pieces have connected him with the West Coast Light & Space movement.

Also on view are the sophisticated, thematic “Alphabet” sculptures, whose exuberant geometry addresses issues of language and abstraction in a novel and colorful way. In addition, the graceful compositions in steel, such as the monumental Stainless Steel Donut No. 5 (2012), and a number of various series are included in the exhibition, relating to Benton’s numerous commissions for large-scale public pieces. These works demonstrate the meticulous, innovative craftsmanship, which has been a hallmark of the artist’s work throughout his career.

Born in Jackson, Ohio, in 1931, Benton studied at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In 2008, he was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement in Sculpture Award from the International Sculpture Center, Hamilton, New Jersey. He currently lives and works in San Francisco, California.

Benton’s work is included in many prominent public and private art collections throughout the world, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Fletcher Benton is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with an essay by David Ebony.

For further information, please contact:
Manuel Garcia: mg@yaresart.com; (505) 984-0044.