Benini

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 00:24:00 +0000

Progress is slowed by the Spring rains but soon we will have

the space to hang and enjoy paintings here at our new ranch.

Benini's paintings can be seen by the public at The Sculpture Ranch and

Galleries where Greg Sullivan and his sister, Tara are manning the galleries

and enriching the outdoor sculptures. They are open Wednesday through

Sunday from ten to six. 830-868-5244. www.SculptureRanch.com

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 18:16:00 +0000

Direct from ARTnews, this graphic illustration showing attendees of the international art fairs, indicating Art Miami is second only to Arco Madrid....at this time....

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 18:20:00 +0000

Five Architects, Five State-of-the-Art Museums

Art, engineering, and visitor experience meet as five of the world's greatest architects turn their genius to creating new public buildings

Ellen Gamerman

Oct. 1, 2014 12:16 p.m. ET Wall Street Journal

Aspen Art Museum Aspen Art Museum/Michael Moran/OTTO.

Star architects are descending on the world's museums, and as these world-renowned designers unveil their visions for a wave of new modern cultural institutions, they are entering uncharted territory—stylistically, often, and literally, too.

Daniel Libeskind is finishing his first building in mainland China with the Zhang Zhidong and Modern Industrial Museum in Wuhan. This year's Pritzker Prize winner, Shigeru Ban, just completed his first permanent U.S. museum with the newly opened Aspen Art Museum in Aspen, Colo. Tadao Ando recently wrapped up his first rural American museum project at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass.

The stakes are high: Frank Gehry's Biomuseo in Panama has been nearly 15 years in the making, while Renzo Piano's new building for the Whitney Museum of American Art carries one of the museum world's heftiest price tags.

The buildings are a study in contrasts. The Biomuseo preens at its waterfront setting, with overlapping panels in toucan colors, while a new building at the Clark Art Institute uses neutral tones to blend into its natural location. The Clark structure hides £part of its bulk underground, while the Zhang Zhidong and Modern Industrial Museum hoists its exhibit space into the air. The Aspen Art Museum features a huge woven screen veiling two facades, while the Whitney uses so much exterior glass that passersby on the street will be able to spot some of the art inside the galleries.

Here, a look at five museum projects shaking up the architectural terrain.

Biomuseo Gehry Partners, LLP

BIOMUSEO

MISSION The new museum, which sits along the Pacific Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal, explores the explosion of plant and animal life that occurred during the formation of the Panamanian isthmus and the impact of those prehistoric events on world biodiversity. The museum's first galleries are set to open this week.

WHO DID IT Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry

BUILDING BUDGET $60 million

MATERIALS Concrete, plaster, glass and painted aluminum panels

BACK STORY To find his inspiration for the museum's design, Mr. Gehry turned to three million years ago, and the joining of two continents: "The oceans became separated, and over the years new species of fish developed," he says. "The animals of North and South America collided. Some survived; others adapted, and this museum tells that story."

COLOR CODE The building's rooftops are ablaze in a palette that includes bright reds, blues, and yellows. "The colors were responding to the Atlantic side of the country, where the native population primarily lives, says Mr. Gehry. "Their world tends to be more colorful." This is the first project in Latin America for Mr. Gehry, whose wife is Panamanian.

AIR GEHRY Copa Airlines, a Panamanian carrier, covered one of its planes with a Biomuseo pattern.

Clark Art Institute Jeff Goldberg/Esto

CLARK ART INSTITUTE

WHAT'S NEW In July, the Clark—an art museum and institution of higher education and research—unveiled a new exhibitions center and a renovated museum building, a one-acre reflecting pool and new landscaping across its 140-acre campus in the Berkshires.

WHO DID IT Japanese architect Tadao Ando created a new centerpiece structure, the Clark Center, and New York firm Selldorf Architects renovated another building. The Clark's larger overhaul, which encompasses two new buildings and two renovated structures in total, will wrap up next year.

MATERIALS Mr. Ando's building features architectural concrete, steel, glass and red granite

BUILDING BUDGET $145 million for the entire project

BIG IDEA Attempting to preserve the natural feel of the setting, Mr. Ando built below ground, submerging an exhibition gallery and bringing in sunshine through light wells. A large reflecting pool serves as a gathering place, says the Clark's director, Michael Conforti, who adds, "It's like being in a plaza at the top of an Italian hill town."

IF MONEY WERE NO OBJECT… "I don't think that an unlimited budget always makes good architecture," Mr. Ando says, adding that architects can stay in their budget and still deliver what they have promised. "There is a way to do this without compromising."

HOW IT FEELS The design attempts to heighten each guest's awareness of nature. "I wish to create a space that will motivate visitors and artists to be free minded and creative," Mr. Ando says.

Zhang Zhi Dong and Modern Industrial Museum Alex Chan

ZHANG ZHIDONG AND MODERN INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM

MISSION Projected to open next spring or summer, exhibits will attempt to tell the story of the central Chinese region of Wuhan, its industry and the life of Zhang Zhidong, a 19th-century leader celebrated in China for helping to usher in an era of modernization.

WHO DID IT New York-based architect Daniel Libeskind

MATERIALS Steel, concrete and anti-reflective stainless-steel panels

BUILDING BUDGET $24.4 million

BIGGEST ROADBLOCK Local labor had little to no experience with architectural complexities of the building, which features a curved, suspended form resting on vertical towers. "Our team was on the ground for several months guiding the process," says Stefan Blach, the principal architect in charge of the project from Mr. Libeskind's office.

IF MONEY WERE NO OBJECT… "Anything more would be excessive," says Mr. Blach, though he adds that it would have been great to buy the parkland adjacent to the site.

HOW IT FEELS Visitors "will climb the main staircase as if being beamed into a ship," Mr. Blach says. "Once inside the exhibition areas, the visitor will feel engulfed in the experience of the building—a bit like how Jonah would have felt inside the whale."

This year's Pritzker Prize winner, Shigeru Ban, just completed his first permanent U.S. museum with the newly opened Aspen Art Museum in Aspen, Colo. Aspen Art Museum/© Michael Moran/OTTO

THE ASPEN ART MUSEUM

WHAT'S NEW The contemporary art museum moved from its old home in a converted hydroelectric plant to a new building with three times the gallery space.

WHO DID IT Shigeru Ban, the Japanese architect known for designing innovative refugee shelters for use after natural disasters.

MATERIALS The exterior screen is made with Prodema, comprised of paper laminated in resin and covered in thin sheets of wood.

BUILDING BUDGET $45 million, including land

INNOVATION Mr. Ban tried a new design for the museum's roof, a structure of interconnecting wooden beams that joins with almost no metal hardware.

ROADBLOCK Museum director Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson at first resisted Mr. Ban's idea of bringing natural light into the gallery spaces but changed her mind after the architect took her on a tour of museums that did—and didn't—incorporate sunlight. "He let me see for myself that when there's natural light with the art, it sings," she says.

NOD TO THE SLOPES Mr. Ban wants visitors to start on the top floor, with its rooftop sculpture garden at the base of Ajax Mountain, and then descend through the museum. It is "an analog to the skiing experience," says Zachary Moreland, senior project architect at Shigeru Ban's firm.

The Whitney Museum Tim Schenck

THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART

WHAT'S NEW The trove of modern and contemporary art is relocating from New York's Upper East Side to a new downtown building set to open this spring.

WHO DID IT Italian architect Renzo Piano

MATERIALS Glass, steel painted gray blue to pick up the light along the Hudson River

BUILDING BUDGET $422 million, including land

SURPRISE The structure includes outdoor galleries, with an exterior stair that will allow visitors to walk up and down the outside of the building, fire-escape style.

OFFICE SPACE "There's hardly a museum in the country that doesn't have its art handlers in the basement—ours are up in the air, directly opposite the special-exhibition gallery," says Whitney director Adam Weinberg, adding that curators, conservators and other staffers working with the art will be situated just off the galleries.

FLOAT FACTOR The glass-encased ground floor creates a feeling that the building is lifted up and floating along the river, says Elisabetta Trezzani, a partner with Renzo Piano Building Workshop. "It's really flying," she says.

HOW IT FEELS Architectural such as the building's profile—a play on the upside-down stepped shape of the old uptown structure—are meant to evoke the museum's former home. "I want people to say, 'It feels like the Whitney,'" says Mr. Weinberg.

Why are so many people paying so money for art?

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 19:13:00 +0000

Nick Paumgarten has written a lengthy, lively account of the art buying activity today by plutocrats
and art collectors as documented by his profile of David Swirner. Worthy read!

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/12/02/131202fa_fact_paumgarten?currentPage=all

The Dervish Truth

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 02:26:00 +0000

Benini's "Truth" Series began with the twisted 6 1/2 feet tall granite sculpture he completed soon after moving to the Hill Country, a piece that is on display at the Sculpture Ranch. After a second granite piece was completed and installed at the private home of a collector, he then mounted aluminum bars
that were welded by John Weber to create again the twisting design that morphs into such different shapes it is hard not to pull analogies totally unrelated to one another in describing different responses to the same sculpture. The Dervish Truth was completed the first week of June, 2013 and it joins
"Sailor's Truth" and the origin "Truth" on the ranch. Three views shown here.

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 23:46:00 +0000

Marc Pouhe's recent article on Benini's current exhibition at The International Museum of Arts and Sciences, appearing in Beyond Arts and More, San Antonio issue.

Beyond Arts and More!!
Follow the link to read the article.

The Importance of Reading....

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:31:00 +0000

tp://www.buildingpersonalstrength.com/2012/02/reading-it-can-help-your-teen-build.html

Dr. Denny Coates' blog following his visit with Benini, February, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:27:00 +0000

Benini and the Sculpture Ranch - Glorious Art Treasures
Hidden in the Texas Hill Country.
http://www.buildingpersonalstrength.com/2012/02/benini-and-sculpture-ranch-glorious-art.html

By Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D., Copyright 2012. Building Personal Strength .

Madre by Benini, from 1973.....

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 21:48:00 +0000

In 1972 and 1973, Benini painted only with Hansa yellows, a series of women and roses, that
culminated in the exhibition "Of Women and Roses" that debuted at New York State University in Buffalo, New York. This painting is 30" x 36". Many of the paintings from that time were sold, some we have lost track of. If you own one, we would love to hear from you for the archival studies.

The Choirmeister, New Divertimenti by Benini

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:54:00 +0000

Benini solo exhibition opening in March at Greg Thompson Fine Arts

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:25:00 +0000

March 17th, an exhibition of Benini's newest work will open at the Greg Thompson Fine Art Gallery in the historic Argenta district in North Little Rock, Arkanas. To date, Benini has had 160 one-man shows, primarily in museums, universities and public institutions. Benini lived in Hot Springs National Park for 12 years. This will be his first exhibition in the Little Rock area. March 18th will be the monthly Gallery Walk in North Little Rock. On Saturday, March 19th, Benini will give a gallery talk at 1:00. For more information contact Greg Thompson at 501-664.2787.

World Class Sculpture And Paintings In Texas Hill Country At The Benini Sculpture Ranch - Artistic Tucson

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:01:00 +0000

World Class Sculpture And Paintings In Texas Hill Country At The Benini Sculpture Ranch - Artistic Tucson

Riding Kaos: Truth and The Journey

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:01:00 +0000

PAINTINGS
of 2010

Riding Kaos:
Truth and the Journey
Benini 2010
46" diameter
Acrylics on Canvas
Available

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 18:40:00 +0000

Take My Heart

Divertimenti

Benini, 2010

25" tall

Benini's Newest!

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:47:00 +0000

Once in a Blue Dream, Acrylics, 46 " diameter

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:07:00 +0000

To All The Ones Who Try, The Winner...
Newest Benini
40" x 50"
Blended and dropped acrylics.

A Blast from the Past!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Sun, 30 May 2010 00:36:00 +0000

In preparation for major archival documentation, we are photographing some of Benini's Roses of the 1980's ~ like visiting old friends. This one is Midnite Rose, Benini 1984, 42" x 35", Acrylics on Canvas.
To see more of his roses, visit the link to his website: http://www.benini.com/painting-80s-rose-shape.htm

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:37:00 +0000

Mi Chiamanni Mimi, Benini's newest Divertimenti.

The new Divertimenti pages on the website will be ready soon.

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:36:00 +0000

Volare, Benini's new divertimenti

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:27:00 +0000

Benini's new series of small framed paintings, see Paintings 2010 pages for full information.

noreply@blogger.com (The Sculpture Ranch) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:30:00 +0000

HDR Photograph by Bob Root, Traveler, Photographer

http://chilltravelers.smugmug.com/Art/Benini-Sculpture-Ranch/11737068_WqATK#828710038_yFV9Y