From Publishers Weekly
Sculptor Benton has been compared to David Smith and Max Bill though he "invents" his geometric shapes from single units, unlike Smith, and relies mainly on emotion and intuition, unlike the mathematical Bill. Lucie-Smith ( The New British Painting ) begins with a condensed history of 20th-century American sculpture, an effort to establish references for Benton's work that seems superfluous; this is followed by more pertinent details of Benton's life in the San Francisco Bay Area and of the artist's progress through painting, kinetic art and abstract constructions. Karlstrom, West Coast art researcher for the Smithsonian, offers an eloquent psychological portrait of Benton that critiques his art as a whole; 365 photos, 260 of them in color, chronologically illustrate the artist's development. This informative and visually entertaining retrospective honors Benton's inventiveness, his well-earned success and his dynamic pieces.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
