Cast Form 69

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Cast Form 69

Artist Howard Ben Tré (American, 1949-2020)

Date1989

DimensionsH: 16 in. (40.6 cm); W: 8 in. (20.3 cm); Depth: 35 in. (88.9 cm)

MediumCast glass, gold leaf, and pigmented wax.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Dorothy and George Saxe

Object number

1991.112

Not on View

Label TextSculptor Howard Ben Tré chose cast glass as his primary medium of artistic expression, using it to explore the merging of organic and geometric qualities in form and decoration. Ben Tré prefered glass to remain “murky” and dense, playing with luminosity and concealment to help him achieve a translucent glow and patterns of imperfections that impart an intriguing timelessness. He was particularly drawn to sand-casting, a process that gives an aged feeling to contemporary shapes while preserving the formal sculptural dialogue between interior and exterior. In Case Form 69, Ben Tré applied gold leaf to the cast form, resulting in a golden, yet rough, interior surface. The work combines power, vulnerability, and luminescence to convey both a spiritual and sexual dimension.Published ReferencesKangas, Matthew, "Engendering Ben Tré," Glass 40 (Spring-Summer 1990), pp. 26-27 (ill.).Exhibition HistorySanta Monica, CA, Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Howard Ben Tré: New Work, 1989.

Washington, D. C., The Phillips Collection, Howard Ben Tré: Contemporary Sculpture (exh. cat., pp. 30, 37, 39, 48, ill.) (traveled to Pittsburgh, Carnegie-Mellon Art Gallery, Lincoln, Massachusetts, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park), 1989-1990.

Toledo Museum of Art, Crossing the Boundaries: The Sculpture of Howard Ben Tré, 1992.

Toledo Museum of Art; The Saint Louis Art Museum; Newport Beach, California, Newport Harbor Art Museum; Washington, D.C., Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art Smithsonian Institution, Contemporary Crafts and the Saxe Collection, 1993-1995, pl. 4, p. 25, cat. no. 9, p. 192.