Tom Benner “Ice Formations”

Tom Benner “Ice Formations” — March 5 – 26, 2016

Tom Benner’s artwork explores the relationship between humans, animals and the environment. In the 1970s Benner used images of leaves, waves, boulders and ice formations in his artwork. His interests culminated in a massive three-part metal sculpture (now destroyed) of icebergs that was exhibited at the Forest City Gallery and Art Gallery of Ontario in 1976. Forty years later, Benner has re-visited the theme of ice with his monumental two-part aluminium “Ice Formations” sculpture and his watercolours and cased-shrines dedicated to marine mammals.

Born in 1950 in London, Ontario, Tom Benner has been a practicing artist since receiving his special Arts Diploma from H.B. Beal Secondary School in 1969. His work has been exhibited widely across North America including major solo touring exhibitions: “The Call of the Wild” 2010-2014, “Cruising the Margins” 2002-2007, “Tour of Bison” 1998 and “Tecumseh” 1996. His work is in many corporate and public collections including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Tom Thomson Art Gallery, McIntosh Gallery and Museum London.

Benner also has permanent installations of outdoor sculpture including the “White Rhino” at Museum London, “Rookery of Herons” at Lynnwood Arts Centre, “The Ancient Ones” at the Woodstock Art Gallery and “Turkey Vultures” at the DB Weldon Library, Western University.

Since the early 1980s, Benner has explored the relationship between human beings and nature and has continued to involve a sustained exploration of the environment, of history and of the land. “My primary work typically involves large-scale projects. Each piece is strongly rooted within a tradition of narrative and story-telling but is also equally concerned with materiality. Some stories are grounded with historical research, scouring book stores and libraries for information, some stories come in the form of dreams, memories. My sculpture is not solely about the individual piece, but also about the process, the materials, and the space it occupies. Hand-crafted, labour-intensive, and visibly-shaped, I make use of a cross-disciplinary approach, using copper, steel, wood, fiberglass, aluminum, leather, and many other materials, drawing, riveting, installing and sculpting.”