Page 55 - Contemporary Art and Old Masters

The work in Knotted, Torn, Scattered exemplifies a shift in Lynda Benglis,
emphasis in American art - from gestural painting toward Two, 1973. Gauze, paint, plaster, mica, metal, and plastic sequins, 31 x
12 1/8 x 16 1/2 inches (78.8 x 31.7 x 41.9 cm). Solomon R. Guggenheim
explorations of the physical properties of materials. A pivotal Museum, New York, Gift, Mrs. Andrew P. Fuller 76.2259. © Lynda Benglis /
piece featured in the exhibition is Richard Serra’s Belts (1966– Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
67), an installation of industrial rubber coils and neon. The artist
has described the work as “structurally related to Pollock’s
Mural. If my origins culminated in anything, they culminated
in Pollock. Then I felt I needed to move into literal space.”
Lynda Benglis attempted to “get off the wall with the canvas”

Richard Serra,
Belts, 1966–67. Vulcanized rubber and neon, approximately 6 feet 8
inches x 16 feet 6 inches x 1 foot 8 inches (203.2 x 502.9 x 50.8 cm). Maren Hassinger,
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Panza Collection, 91.3863. © Untitled, 1972/2020. Rope. Dimensions variable. Solomon R. Guggenheim
2020 Richard Serra / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Museum, New York. Purchased through prior gift of Judge and Mrs.
Samuel I. Rosenman, 2020 © 2020 Maren Hassinger

by transforming her painted surfaces into knotted sculptural
objects. Tony Smith’s Wingbone (1962) demonstrates the
translation of spiritual ambitions through organic geometries in
his human-scaled forms. Influenced by dance and collaborative
performance, works by Maren Hassinger and Senga Nengudi
demonstrate how process-oriented practices could also
register a social experience beyond the singular actions of the
artist. A recent acquisition, Hassinger’s Untitled (1972/2020),
comprised of eight lengths of nautical rope repeatedly hand-
spliced and hung in an evocative installation, is on public view
Robert Morris, for the first time. Like Robert Morris’s Untitled (Pink Felt) (1970),
Untitled (Pink Felt), 1970. Felt pieces of various sizes, overall dimensions Hassinger’s installation is an index of the artist’s interactions
variable. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Panza Collection, 91.3804
© 2020 The Estate of Robert Morris /Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York with industrial materials.

WORLD of ART 55