In the late 1960s, Benglis made a group of works by pouring liquid latex hand-mixed with pigments on the floor and letting it dry into irregular, rubbery chunks. Soon after, she began pouring polyurethane foam to create freestanding sculptures and from a select few, various metal casts were made. Works such as Modern Art (Pair)—which was executed first in bronze and aluminum and later in lead and tin—share industrial materials with their Minimalist antecedents, yet their forms are also insistently biomorphic, even scatological. Modern Art (Pair) refers to two related works that share the same title and together consist of four parts, each in a different metal. However, the two works were divided for over thirty-five years. The bronze and aluminum pair was given to the Museum in 1977. In 2012, the artist reunited the four elements by donating the lead and tin pair.
Gallery label from 2013, updated in 2023
