Acts of Freedom: Adam Pendleton and Lynda Benglis at Frieze New York
Pendleton reflects on the power of movement and transformation across mediums, in his dual presentation with Benglis
Pendleton reflects on the power of movement and transformation across mediums, in his dual presentation with Benglis
‘I like to think of painting as something that communicates both the limits and the potential of the human body.’
Brooklyn-based artist Adam Pendleton debuts new ‘Movement’ paintings at Frieze New York, showing alongside Lynda Benglis with Pace Gallery.
’To roll, to swing, to move’ – these are the verbs Benglis assigns to her sculptural practice, and Pendleton responds with his own – ‘to throw, to press, to smooth’. With a shared commitment to artistic freedom, Benglis and Pendleton translate and transform gestures across mediums: Pendleton into layers of paint, spray paint, ink and watercolour, and Benglis into coiling bronze sculptures.
‘What happens when you act upon a material, what emerges?’ asks Pendleton in this visit to his studio.
Pace Gallery presents a dual show of Adam Pendleton and Lynda Benglis at Frieze New York (7–11 May 2025). Pendleton’s exhibition ‘Love, Queen’ is now on view at the Hirshhorn in Washington, D.C, until 3 January 2027.
About Adam Pendleton
Adam Pendleton (b. 1984, Richmond, Virginia), a central figure in American painting, continuously redefines the medium as it relates to process and abstraction. Upending linear compositional logic, Pendleton’s paintings are created by a distilled layering of gesture, fragment, and form that mirrors the cacophony of contemporary experience. Each painting comes to life through its expressionistic flourishes, stark contrasts, and subtle use of material, tone and finish, as well as a precision reminiscent of minimal and conceptual art. Generative and poetic, his paintings create fluid and essential spaces for seeing, thinking and feeling.
About Lynda Benglis
Since the 1960s, Lynda Benglis (b. 1941, Lake Charles, Louisiana) has been celebrated for the free, energetic forms she has made that are simultaneously playful and visceral, organic and abstract. Emerging amid the rise of Postminimalism, she has pushed the boundaries of painting and sculpture, expanding their possibilities over the course of her career. Working with a variety of materials, Benglis’s works demonstrate an enduring embrace of the processes of transformation and translation as they relate to the body and gesture. Through her practice, Benglis continues a long-running investigation of the proprioceptive, sensory experiences of making and viewing her works.
Credits
Lynda Benglis inspecting the Elephant Necklace series, Saxe Patterson, Inc., Taos, New Mexico, 2016. Photos: Kashis Bergere
Lynda Benglis at work on a ceramic sculpture, Saxe Patterson, Inc., Taos, New Mexico, 2013. Photos: Robert Burtis
Lynda Benglis: Elephant Necklaces, 2017. Directed by Burrill Crohn
Further Information
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Frieze New York, The Shed, 7 – 11 May 2025. Tickets are on sale – don’t miss out, buy yours now. Alternatively, become a member to enjoy premier access, exclusive guided tours and more.
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