Contraband 1969

Lynda Benglis made *Contraband* by pouring latex paint directly onto the floor. I love the sheer audacity and the celebration of process here. The colours are so vibrant and playful, all swirled together like a psychedelic river. It’s thick and gloopy, you can almost feel the weight of the latex. I imagine Benglis, letting the paint flow and pool, trusting the materials to do their thing. There’s a part in the middle where the red bleeds into the yellow, creating this intense orange, it’s like a little sun radiating heat. The blue, haphazardly streaking through the other colors is what keeps the piece from being too 'pretty.' Benglis reminds me of Eva Hesse in the way she embraced the unexpected and pushed the boundaries of sculpture. Both artists remind us that art is about exploration, about taking risks, and about letting the materials lead the way.