Viewing Encounters: Giacometti x Lynda Benglis

Encounters: Giacometti x Lynda Benglis concludes a trio of exhibitions bringing together contemporary sculptors with the work of Alberto Giacometti, one of the most influential European artists of the 20th century, at the Barbican Centre. This concluding chapter, co-curated with the Fondation Giacometti, features the work of the mighty American sculptor Lynda Benglis.

The show presents nearly 30 previously unseen works by Benglis—many created between 2014 and 2020 and until now shown only inside her studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico—alongside a curated selection of Giacometti’s sculptures. These rarely exhibited pieces by Benglis, made from handmade paper stretched over chicken wire and embellished with paint, sparkles, acrylic, and other media, highlight her ongoing fascination with materiality, gesture and organic form.

The exhibition underscores resonances between Benglis’s inventive approach and Giacometti’s rigorous, existential sculptural language. While Giacometti’s work is iconic for its attenuated figures and probing exploration of human presence and isolation in the post-war period, Benglis’s dynamic, abstract forms evoke bodily energy, sensuality, and process-driven experimentation. Together, their works invite viewers to consider how sculpture can articulate both vulnerability and vitality, fragility and strength across generations. Sure to be a standout show of the season.