Lynda Benglis's Feminist Specters at Thomas Dane Gallery, Naples

Thomas Dane Gallery in Naples is hosting a solo exhibition of works by Lynda Benglis (b. 1941, Lake Charles, Louisiana), spanning from the 1970s to 2011. The show opens with Bikini Incandescent Column (2002), a monumental phallic lamp resembling an atomic mushroom cloud, setting a feminist tone. Benglis, who challenged male art-world giants in the 1970s, presents ceramic sculptures evoking earth and sand, tubular wire-mesh works with glitter recalling New Orleans Mardi Gras, and three biomorphic marble pieces that reject rational serenity. The final room features two polyurethane sculptures that glow in the dark: Potent Limit III (2011), resembling a fertilized egg, and Ghost of Smile (1974/2016), a double-ended dildo hung like a trophy—a reference to her infamous 1974 Artforum ad where she posed nude with a dildo. The exhibition celebrates her ongoing experimentation with materials and feminist critique.