Frank Benson
The Castaway, 2017
Bronze, acrylic polyurethane
39 3/8 x 28 3/4 x 27 1/2 inches (100 x 73 x 70 cm)
Edition of 4, with 1 AP
Frank Benson
The Castaway, 2017
Bronze, acrylic polyurethane
39 3/8 x 28 3/4 x 27 1/2 inches (100 x 73 x 70 cm)
Edition of 4, with 1 AP
Frank Benson
Juliana, 2015
Painted bronze with Corian pedestal
Sculpture: 23 x 48 x 22 inches (58.4 x 121.9 x 55.9 cm);
Pedestal: 42 x 53 x 24 inches (106.7 x 134.6 x 61 cm)
Frank Benson
Juliana, 2015
Painted bronze with Corian pedestal
Sculpture: 23 x 48 x 22 inches (58.4 x 121.9 x 55.9 cm);
Pedestal: 42 x 53 x 24 inches (106.7 x 134.6 x 61 cm)
Frank Benson
Juliana, 2015
Painted bronze with Corian pedestal
Sculpture: 23 x 48 x 22 inches (58.4 x 121.9 x 55.9 cm);
Pedestal: 42 x 53 x 24 inches (106.7 x 134.6 x 61 cm)
Frank Benson
Locked Frame, 2014
Galvanized steel, aluminum, polyurethane acrylic paint
36 x 36 x 16 inches (91.4 x 91.4 x 40.6 cm)
Frank Benson
Human Statue (Jessie), 2011
Bronze, marble
79 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 20 inches (201 cm x 31.75 cm x 50.80 cm)
Frank Benson
Human Statue (Jessie), 2011
Bronze, marble
79 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 20 inches (201 cm x 31.75 cm x 50.80 cm)
Frank Benson
Human Statue (Jessie), 2011
Bronze, marble
79 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 20 inches (201 x 31.75 x 50.80 cm)
Frank Benson
Extrusion IX , 2012
Ceramic, formica
Sculpture: 23 3/4 x 4 1/4 x 4 inches (60.3 x 10.8 x 10.2 cm);
Pedestal: 38 x 20 x 36 1/4 inches (96.5 x 50.8 x 92.1 cm)
Frank Benson
Extrusion XV, 2012
Ceramic, formica
Sculpture: 19 3/4 x 7 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches (50.2 x 18.4 x 5.7 cm);
Pedestal: 30 7/8 x 20 x 36 1/4 inches (78.4 x 50.8 x 92.1 cm)
Frank Benson
Extrusion XIII, 2012
Ceramic, formica
Sculpture: 23 1/2 x 7 x 17 inches (59.7 x 17.8 x 43.2 cm);
Pedestal: 36 x 23 x 36 inches (91.4 x 58.4 x 91.4 cm)
Frank Benson
Human Statue, 2009
Bronze
72 x 22 x 13 inches (1.83 m x 55.88 cm x 33.02 cm)
Frank Benson
Human Statue (Detail), 2009
Bronze
72 x 22 x 13 inches (1.83 m x 55.88 cm x 33.02 cm)
Frank Benson
Human Statue (Detail), 2009
Bronze
72 x 22 x 13 inches (1.83 m x 55.88 cm x 33.02 cm)
Frank Benson
Turtle (bronze), 2009
Bronze
Unique
Frank Benson
Turtle (bronze), 2009
Bronze
unique
Frank Benson
MDF, 2008
MDF
19.5 x 41 x 96 inches (49.53 cm x 1.04 m x 2.44 m)
Edition of 4, with 1 AP
Frank Benson
Human Statue, 2005
Forton, MDF, oil paint, acrylic paint, acrylic polyurethane
82 x 22 x 20 inches (208.3 x 55.9 x 50.8 cm)
Edition of 3, with 1 AP
Frank Benson
Chocolate Fountain #1, 2008
Mirror polished stainless steel, paint
26 1/2 x 20 5/8 x 20 5/8 inches (67.3 x 52.4 x 52.4 cm); 22 1/2 x 24 x 36 inches (57.2 x 61 x 91.4 cm) plinth
Edition of 4
Frank Benson (b. 1976, Virginia, USA) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Working in sculpture and photography, Benson's practice centers on concepts of arrested movement and the use of digital tools in the creation of sculpture. Increasingly, Benson has employed technology in the production of works – for example, the translation of photographs of human models into meticulously-crafted ‘wireframe’ virtual models and 3-D prints. These models serve as the basis for hyper-real and minutely-finished statues, all of which drawing on Benson's own circle of artist and creatives. In 2019, Benson's work was the subject of a survey at the Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo. His work has been included in major group exhibitions, including Like Life: Sculpture, Color, and the Body, The Met Breuer, New York (2018), Art in the Ages of the Internet: 1989 to today, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2018), 2015 Triennial: Surround Audience, New Museum, New York, among others.
Frank Benson hijacks statuary memorials for the outcast and displaced, in Castaway (2018) allowing the pirate to become the subject of monumentalization. In identifying his subjects and transforming them into bronze casts, Benson navigates the formal syntax of the monument and the statue. The pirate, as a cultural siren for the industrious scavenger, provides a clear cognate to the sculptor working with found objects. Indeed, the pirate in Benson’s imaginary has found a bottle of detergent encrusted with barnacles that can become a multi-purpose tool. At the same time, however, Benson’s marauder lends the authority of the monument to the marginalized—those castaway by society. Working against the traditional verticality of the statue, Benson charges the viewer to lower their body to meet the pirate’s crouching squat.
As part of a public commission, Frank Benson's sculpture Castaway is currently on view at the University of Bristol.
Frank Benson is one of the most fascinating sculptors of his generation of American contemporary artists. Astrup Fearnley Museet has followed his spectacular development and through the years included a large number of his work in the Astrup Fearnley Collection. The exhibition will for the first time show all of these works together and give a good insight to his artistic production.
When I was offered the opportunity to create a show for Downstairs Projects I decided to approach the exhibition and the interview printed in the accompanying zine as a personal investigation into my own relationship with photography. While my work is primarily based in sculpture, photography has been vital to my development as an artist and I thought it would be useful to explore my connection to the medium. After reviewing my archive of photographs and answering the questions posed to me in the interview, I came to the realization that my core interest in photography lies simply in a basic need to frame and document my own sculpture. I had tried several different photographic strategies throughout my career, but I ultimately found them unfulfilling - it was not enough for me to photograph the existing world or directly appropriate a pre-existing image - I needed to have a hand in the creation and staging of the subject in front of the camera as well.
