Amboda (Flounce)
Artist
Lynda Benglis
(American, born 1941)
Date1980
Mediumbrass screen, hydrocal, gesso, gold leaf
DimensionsOverall: 59.7 × 64.8 × 27.9 cm (23 1/2 × 25 1/2 × 11 in.)
Credit LineThe Mendel Art Gallery Collection at Remai Modern. Gift of Private Collection, Toronto, 2018.
Copyright© LYNDA BENGLIS / VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SOCAN, Montréal (2021)
Object number2018.7.2
Classificationssculpture
On View
Not on viewWorking for over five decades, Lynda Benglis became well known in the 1960s for her gestural and process driven works, particularly in her iconic floor pieces, composed of brightly pigmented poured latex. At that time Benglis provided a notable aesthetic opposition to her Minimalist—and predominately male—peers. Her move away from the canvas to sculptural form provided a counterpoint to mainstream art practices at a time of great experimentation.
Amboda (Flounce) belongs to a body of work comprised of fans and knots—metallic coloured coils utilizing glitter, gold leaf, polyurethane or lead—that look like stiff fabric. These works recall the decorative arts and were considered to be explicitly feminine in form. In this way Benglis challenged the prevailing association of craft with domesticity, positioning it instead in the context of fine art. Benglis’ subversive feminist approach to art making and materials continues to flourish in contemporary practice.
Amboda (Flounce) belongs to a body of work comprised of fans and knots—metallic coloured coils utilizing glitter, gold leaf, polyurethane or lead—that look like stiff fabric. These works recall the decorative arts and were considered to be explicitly feminine in form. In this way Benglis challenged the prevailing association of craft with domesticity, positioning it instead in the context of fine art. Benglis’ subversive feminist approach to art making and materials continues to flourish in contemporary practice.
