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Cobalt and Gold Study II

A work made of painted plaster with gold leaf.
© 1978 Lynda Benglis.

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  • A work made of painted plaster with gold leaf.

Date:

1978

Artist:

Lynda Benglis
American, born 1941

About this artwork

Lynda Benglis brought an innovative, sometimes jarring perspective to the male-dominated Minimalist aesthetic of the 1960s. Her distinctive and influential sculptural language is articulated through diverse techniques and materials—including polyurethane foam, beeswax, plaster, bronze, and cast aluminum—and often alludes to painterly aspects of Abstract Expressionism while advancing concerns of Post-Minimalism. Cobalt and Gold Study II, although small in scale, is an example of one of her signature modes of production during the 1970s. Benglis’s “study” of cobalt and gold is a conceptual one, using plaster and gold leaf as stand-ins to explore the fluidity of metal. The title and apparent solidity of the sculpture run counter to its inherent malleability—bunched and folded onto itself.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Lynda Benglis

Title

Cobalt and Gold Study II

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1978–1979

Medium

Painted plaster with gold leaf

Dimensions

35 × 90 × 25 cm (15 × 7 1/2 × 5 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Dr. James and Jetta Jones

Reference Number

1999.941

Copyright

© 1978 Lynda Benglis.

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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