Barton Lidice Benes left us on the 30th of May 2012. As a longtime member of our gallery family, Barton was not only a great artist, but an even greater person. He will be truly missed and forever remembered.
Barton Lidice Benes was born 1942 in New Jersey. He lived and worked in New York City. With his distinctive collages, he widely captured the art world’s attention. By incorporating materials such as shredded bills, HIV positive blood, and ashes of cremated friends; Benes’ art aroused both enthusiasm and aversion. The Dadaistic sense of humor was contrasted by complexity and ever-present questions of life and death. Benes transformed the provocative, forsaken and rejected into beautiful poetic mementos and colorful curiosities. By illuminating the shadow sides of life, Benes’ most important contribution was to unveil cultural taboos and to push boundaries through an artistic expression which was impossible to disregard.