Column 20
Artist
Howard Ben Tré
(American, 1949 - 2020)
CultureAmerican
Date1984
MediumCast glass with copper
DimensionsOverall: 86 x 18 x 13 1/8 in. (218.4 x 45.7 x 33.3 cm)
Credit LinePurchase and anonymous gift, dedicated by the Trustees to Richard F. Barry III in gratitude for his long and distinguished service to the Chrysler, June 2004
Object number92.13
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 119, Case 66
Label TextHoward Ben Tré American, 1949-2020 Column 20, 1984 Cast glass with copper Museum purchase and anonymous gift, dedicated by the Trustees to Richard F. Barry III in gratitude for his long and distinguished service to the Chrysler, June 2004 92.13 Howard Ben Tré is internationally known for his luminous glass sculptures. He uses this medium to fabricate sculpture, rather than as a means for creating a functional vessel or decorative object. In his training as a sculptor, Ben Tré initially worked in bronze and shifted to glass as he became increasingly intrigued with its properties of weight, translucency, ice-like solidity and luminosity. His innovative use of the material places the artist at the forefront of contemporary sculpture. Austerely abstract, Ben Tré's works are explorations into oppositions - he is examining the polarities between art and craft, architecture and sculpture, art and industry, control and chaos, intellect and intuition, solid and void, and past and present. These sculptures are mystical works that elicit in the viewer images of ancient Greek temples, Mayan ruins, Gothic cathedrals, as well as architecture produced by modern industrial technology. Radiating a similarly mysterious and powerful presence as these monumental icons, Ben Tré's work transcends time and place. Column 20 is one of the largest columns which Ben Tré has executed, and its monumentality makes it a spectacular example of his oeuvre. Given the Museum's outstanding glass collection, the acquisition of Column 20 was especially apt. Exhibition History"Howard Ben Tré," Charles Cowles Gallery, NYC, March 30 - April 27, 1985. "Howard Ben Tré: Contemporary Sculpture," The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., December 16, 1989 - February 25, 1990; Carnegie-Mellon Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, April 14 - May 27, 1990; Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, June 16 - August 26, 1990; DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA, November 16, 1990 - January 27, 1991; Catalogue No. 6, reproduced in color, p. 18. "Contemporary Glasswork Art Exhibition," Espace Duchamp-Villon, Centre Saint-Sever, Rouen, France, December 1991 - March 1992. Published References"Contemporary. 20th-Century Acquisition," The Chrysler Museum BULLETIN, Vol. 22, No. 5 (Fall 1992), 9. "Recent Important Acquisitions", THE JOURNAL OF GLASS STUDIES 35 (1993): No. 32, 132. Martha Drexler Lynn, _Sculpture, Glass, and American Museums_ (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005), 36-43. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 146, fig. 184. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1
3rd Intermediate Period, Dynasty 23, 818-715 B.C.E.
Unknown
