Karl Benjamin's Hard-Edge Paintings Celebrated in 'Tracing the Edge' at Benton Museum of Art
"Tracing the Edge," an exhibition at the Benton Museum of Art in Claremont, California, highlights the work of Karl Stanley Benjamin (1925–2012), a prominent artist in the Hard-edge painting movement. Running from August 23, 2023, to January 7, 2024, the display features his early works characterized by geometric abstraction and vibrant colors. Benjamin, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, later became an art educator in public schools. His first significant solo exhibition took place in 1954 at the Pasadena Art Museum, and he participated in the 1959 Four Abstract Classicists show, which helped define West Coast Hard-edge. He earned his MA in 1960, joined Pomona College in 1979, and received NEA grants in 1983 and 1989.
Key facts
- Karl Stanley Benjamin (1925–2012) was an American painter and a leader of the Hard-edge painting movement.
- "Tracing the Edge" at the Benton Museum of Art in Claremont, California, runs from August 23, 2023, to January 7, 2024.
- Benjamin's first major solo show was in 1954 at the Pasadena Art Museum, now the Norton Simon Museum of Art.
- In 1959, Benjamin exhibited in Four Abstract Classicists at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with Lorser Feitelson, Frederick Hammersley, and John McLaughlin.
- The exhibition was renamed West Coast Hard-edge when it traveled to the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London and Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- Curator Jules Langsner is credited with coining the term "Hard-edge painting."
- Benjamin completed his MA in 1960 at Claremont Graduate School, now Claremont Graduate University.
- Benjamin joined Pomona College in 1979 as a professor and artist-in-residence, and was appointed Loren Babcock Miller Professor of Fine Arts in 1991.
Entities
Artists
- Karl Benjamin
- Wassily Kandinsky
- Josef Albers
- Piet Mondrian
- Lorser Feitelson
- Frederick Hammersley
- John McLaughlin
- Jules Langsner
- Dave Hickey
- Miles Davis
- Dizzy Gillespie
- Coleman Hawkins
- Billie Holiday
Institutions
- Benton Museum of Art
- Pomona College
- Norton Simon Museum of Art
- Pasadena Art Museum
- Barnsdall Art Park
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
- Institute of Contemporary Arts
- Queen's University
- Claremont Graduate University
- Claremont Graduate School
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Museum of Modern Art
- National Endowment for the Arts
- Orange County Museum of Art
- Getty Research Institute
- New York School
Locations
- Claremont
- California
- United States
- Los Angeles
- Pasadena
- San Francisco
- London
- United Kingdom
- Belfast
- Northern Ireland
- New York
- 52nd Street