Garry Knox Bennett
ILLUMINATION
Time, Containment and Bling

October 23 - November 27, 2021

Join us in celebrating the Opening Reception
Saturday, October 30th, 1-4 pm

(mask up in the gallery)

Lamp (#994) “after the Fire”
circa '90's, 20”h x 4 “ w  x 17” d, wood, brass, matte-silver plating, lamp parts

Illumination, Time, Containment and Bling brings together an exhibition focused primarily on fine craft lamps, clocks, boxes and jewelry by Garry Knox Bennett, spanning several decades of his career.

Ever the consummate craftsman, Bennett revels in the exploration and design of everyday objects, elevating them from the arena of routine utility, and they are meant to be used, to the realm of art and high craft, in a most unpretentious way. 

Notable early on for contributions to metal plating as well as the use of unexpected combinations of materials, Bennett's unconventional perspective and drive has profoundly influenced American furniture making. So much so, he is referenced in popular culture, in a season seven episode of Parks and Recreation, as one of only two celebrities recognized by lead character Ron Swanson.

Pop culture aside, Bennett's long career includes major exhibitions at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City,  and Oakland Museum, traveling exhibition, Garry Knox Bennett: Call Me Chairmaker, which toured Bellvue Arts Museum, Racine Art Museum, Delaware art Museum, Fuller Craft Museum and American University-Katzen Center, and an extensive exhibition history dating back to 1960. Works are included in museum collections including the Museum of Arts and Design, de young Museum, Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Montreal Museum of Art, Oakland Museum of California, Ravine Art Museum, Renwick Gallery and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Works in this exhibition feature materials ranging from the commonplace, accessible and manmade, Nevamar, Corian and Color Core, to exotic woods, fine metal plating, silver, gold, nickel, and natural elements such as sea anemone spines. One of a kind glass or ceramic details may be incorporated, or more pedestrian elements like golf tees and tin. Key to the work is the intention that these objects are useful and pleasurable in their function. A fine attention to balance and proportion is notable throughout as are the many playful moments of lighthearted humor.

While Bennett produced some editioned lamps, and most often produced work in series as he developed forms and style, the pieces in Illumination, Time, Containment and Bling are unique works, each an expression of Bennett's aesthetic and presence. Of special note is Sylvia's Chair, named for Bennett's wife. Its elegant grace and spare beauty speak to Bennett's sensitivity to form, while its comfort and strength declare its service as a chair.

See the work at Transmission Gallery October 23rd through November 27th.*

*(closed Nov 25/26 for Thanksgiving break)

Special  Links:

Craft in America: Garry Knox Bennett
"Since the 1960s, Bennett has been a revolutionary force in the California studio furniture scene. He channels irreverence, subversion and playfulness into meticulously crafted furniture sculptures. Bennett’s incorporation of unconventional materials, the rejection of pretension and dialogging with historic paradigms made him a luminary in the Postmodernist design scene."     - Craft in America

Smithsonian Archives of American Art: Garry Knox Bennett Oral History Interview

Wikipedia - Garry Knox Bennett

SPARK: Garry Knox Bennett -2005

Parks and Rec, Ron Swanson quote:
“I have no interest in consorting with celebrities. The only celebrities I recognize are furniture maker Gary Knox Bennett, designer of the notorious sixteen penny nail cabinet. And Magnus the five by five bull elk I saw near my cabin two years ago.”
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Sylvia's Chair, 2004, lacquered wood, hand-caned seat, 31 x 22 x 35
Shown in traveling exhibition and at the Oakland Museum
​now at Transmission Gallery

More about Garry Knox Bennett

Biography:

Born in Alameda, CA, in 1934 Garry Knox Bennett has long maintained a studio/residence in Oakland, after his home in Alameda was destroyed in a fire.
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Bennett went to art school starting out as a painter in the late 50's at California College of Art and Crafts before transitioning to arts and crafts. 

Bennett married his wife Sylvia and started a family in the 60's. Often referred to as the inventor of the roach clip, he capitalized on the opportunity to support his growing family on the sale of his handmade roach clips. He developed metal plating techniques and ultimately he moved into furniture making. His unconventional combinations of materials and sense of humor parlayed into a career that has had a profound impact on furniture design. 

Tending to work in series, Bennett would produce a great number of objects exploring the range of design and form, dozens of trestle tables, a hundred chairs or more, lamp after lamp and so on, venturing out into other decorative areas now and then, under alternate names, jewelry and electroplated prints on metal for instance, or wall mounted chair/paintings. The jewelry is attributed to Geraldo Bennucci, while the rare paintings may be signed Ambrose Pillphister. 

Bennett sometimes collaborated or traded with other artists; a Rick Shaw yellow (ceramic) paper cup lamp shade, Red Ekks drawer pulls by Bob Rasmussen, glass details by Randy Strong, to name a few. Along the way Bennett and his wife collected a great number of art works as well. Pieces from the Bennett collection of art and furniture showed as the inaugural exhibition of the San Francisco Museum of Craft + Design, with an accompanying catalog.

Bennett intends for his work to be useful, and ideally used, although many pieces now reside in museum collections, honored as objects of reverence. 

Solo Exhibitions:

The Object at Hand, Transmission Gallery, Oakland, CA, Dec 1, 2017 - Jan 20, 2018
Garry Knox Bennett: Inside at Pritam & Eames at The Gallery at Somes Sound, Somesville, Maine. Garry is featured with 17 pieces in this debut exhibition with Pritam & Eames at The Gallery at Somes Sound May 15 2015 - Aug 15 2015
Garry Knox Bennett Illumination, b. sakata garo, Sacramento, CA 95811. An exhibition of Garry's recent lamps. Jul 5 2014 - Aug 2 2014
Garry Knox Bennett: Selected works-- a Broad Spectrum--1963-2013, Sanchez Art Center Pacifica, CA This exhibition will cover painting, sculpture and functional work. Exhibit curated by Phillip E. Linhares (ret. curator of the Oakland Museum) May 31 2013 - Jun 30 2013
Garry Knox Bennett Lights, Tables, Bling Gallery NAGA Boston, MA Jun 3 2011 - Jul 8 2011
Garry Knox Bennett - Vertical at 75, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA this exhibition will be the largest selection of Garry's work since his retrospective in 2001. Nancy M. Servis, curator for the exhibition, has selected current work along with paintings, prints, sculpture and selected available work from our inventory. There will be a catalog. Sep 25 2010 - Nov 13 2010
Twirlings American Association of Woodturners Albuquerque, NM An exhibition of about 40 of his "Twirlings" (objects utilizing turned elements). Jun 26 2009 - Jun 28 2009
GARRY KNOX BENNETT, 2009 A Survey, Tercera Gallery Palo Alto, CA GARRY KNOX BENNETT, 2009 Survey includes furniture, jewelry, painting and sculpture demonstrating his versatility as an artist. Apr 1 2009 - Apr 25 2009
One Of Each Gallery NAGA Boston, MA Small survey of work from '70s through 2008 representing the range of objects characteristic of this premiere studio furniture maker, including works never offered before from the collection of Garry and Sylvia Bennett. Oct 3 2008 - Nov 3 2008
Traveling exhibition: Garry Knox Bennett: Call Me Chairmaker, Bellevue Arts Museum, Racine Art Museum, Delaware Art Museum, Fuller Craft Museum, American University-Katzen Center Bellevue Washington, Wisconsin, Delaware, Brockton Massachusetts, Washington DC. This traveling exhibition features a grouping of 52, one of a kind, colorful and funky chairs created by Garry Knox Bennett, one of the foremost studio furniture makers in America. The inspiration for some of his chairs came from well-known furniture designers and architects. Jul 1 2006 - Aug 30 2009
Garry Knox Bennett: Preoccupations of a Serial Chairmaker Oakland Museum of California, Gallery 555 and Sculpture Court City Center, Oakland, CA Jan 20 2005 - Mar 25 2005
Garry Knox Bennett Leo Kaplan Modern New York Dec 4 2004 - Jan 17 2004
Garry Knox Bennett "Reconstructed Twirlings," Leo Kaplan Modern, New York Oct 17 2002 - Nov 9 2002
What's In a Name? New Jewelry by Garry Knox Bennett a.k.a. Gerraldo Bennucci Julie: Artisans' Gallery New York Jan 17 2002 - Feb 8 2002
Garry Knox Bennett Leo Kaplan Modern New York Jan 20 2001 - Feb 24 2001
Made in Oakland: The Furniture of Garry Knox Bennett, 30 year Retrospective the American Craft Museum; traveled to the Oakland Museum NY, Oakland CA Jan 1 2001 - Jan 1 2001
Garry Knox Bennett Tercerra Gallery Francisco CA Jan 1 2001 - Jan 1 2001
Garry Knox Bennett Leo Kaplan Modern New YorkMay 7 1999
Garry Knox Bennett, 100 Lamps Peter Joseph Gallery New YorkDec 4 1996 - Jan 18 1997
Garry Knox Bennett Peter Joseph Gallery New YorkSep 22 1994 - Oct 22 1994
Furniture: West Coast Survey of Large and Small Works by Garry Knox Bennett North Light Gallery (now Stewart-Kummer Gallery) Gualala, California Sep 5 1992 - Oct 15 1992
Garry Knox Bennett, Furniture as Sculpture The Hand and the Spirit Gallery Scottsdale, Arizona Jan 2 1990
Garry Knox Bennett: New Furniture Snyderman Gallery Philadelphia May 7 1989 - Jun 30 1989
Garry Knox Bennett, New Works in Bronze Brendan Walter Gallery Santa Monica, California Jan 12 1989 - Feb 18 1989
Wendell Castle, Garry Knox Bennett, Fred Baier Alexander F. Milliken Gallery New York Sep 12 1987 - Oct 14 1987
Garry Knox Bennett: Furniture Maker Snyderman Gallery Philadelphia May 3 1987 - Jun 21 1987
Garry Knox Bennett Elaine Potter Gallery San Francisco Jan 21 1986 - Feb 22 1986
Garry Knox Bennett: Furniture Maker Snyderman Gallery Philadelphia May 6 1984 - Jul 1 1984
Garry Bennett: Sculptural Furniture Foster Goldstrom Fine Arts San Francisco Sep 15 1983 - Oct 22 1983
Garry Bennett: Benches and Other Fantasy Furniture The Hand and the Spirit Gallery Scottsdale, Arizona Jan 13 1983 - Feb 7 1983
Works by Garry Knox Bennett Workbench Gallery New York Sep 10 1980 - Oct 19 1980
Garry Bennett: Clocks, Julie: Artisans' Gallery New York Feb 1 1977 - Feb 1 1977
Garry Bennett: Clocks, Lights, Jewelry, The Egg and the Eye subsequently The Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles Jul 24 1973 - Aug 21 1973
Selected work by Garry Knox Bennett, GKB Studio Gallery, Oakland CAA permanent exhibition of selected work by Garry at the GKB Studio Gallery.

Group Exhibitions

The Spotlight: Functional Lighting as Illuminated Sculpture, Craft in America, Los Angeles, CA In partnership with hosts Craft in America, Spotlight will showcase 20 artists from across the United States whose works range from intimate desk lamps to suspended modernist reinventions of the chandelier. Jun 11 2016 - Aug 20 2016
Garry Knox Bennett: Inside, Pritam and Eames: The Gallery at Somes Sound, Somesville, Maine, The Garry Knox Bennett: Inside show includes furniture and decorative objects made by him during his extraordinary 50-plus year career as an artist, object maker, provocateur, and icon of the American studio furniture movement. May 15 2016 - Aug 15 2016
California Handmade: State of the Arts, Maloof Foundation, Alta Loma, CA. This exhibition brings to life the spirit of the California Design triennials of the sixties and the seventies and bring attention to the creativity and craftsmanship that continues to thrive in our state. 12 artists were selected for the exhibition. Done in conjunction with a smaller counterpart show at the Craft in America Center. Jun 1 2015 - Dec 31 2015
50 Years of Works, Snyderman-Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Invitatonal exhibition celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Snyderman-Works Gallery. May 1 2015 - Jun 30 2015
Garry Knox Bennett, Velvet Da Vinci, 2015 Polk St. San Francisco, CA 94109, Oct 3 2014
Furniture With Soul, Naga Gallery, Boston, MA, An exhibition featuring participants in the new book entitled, 'Furniture with Soul,' by David Savage. Jun 1 2012 - Jul 13 2012
Wood, Velvet Da Vinci, San Francisco, CA. A jewelry show. May 9 2012 - Jun 17 2012
Do Not Destroy: Trees, Art, and Jewish ThoughtContemporary Jewish MuseumSan Francisco, CAAn exhibition and the annual Dorothy Saxe invitational show.Feb 16 2012 - Aug 23 2012
Crafting Modernism: Mid-Century American Art & DesignMuseum of Art & Design; Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester, NYNYC, NYOct 12 2011 - Jan 15 2012
Golden State of Craft: California 1960-1985Craft and Folk Art Museum5814 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036This exhibit celebrates groundbreaking craft artists and designers who flourished in California during a historic time of change. The works produced during these years propelled craft into new, uncharted directions that have had a lasting impact on contemporary art practices. Over 70 artists and their defining works will be represented, all of which were once exhibited at CAFAM or in the California Design exhibition series.Sep 25 2011 - Jan 8 2012
Postmodernism, The Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Two pieces are selected for The Victoria & Albert Museum in London for their coming exhibition: Postmodernism which opens on September 23, 2011. A major exhibition with a remarkable catalog. Garry's pieces have been acquired for the permanent collection of the V & A. Sep 23 2011 - Jan 29 2012
Gifted hands: the fine art of craft, Hearst Art Gallery, St. Mary's College of California, Moraga CA. The Hearst Art Gallery features 90 works by 15 contemporary Bay Area artists, Oct 10 2010 - Dec 12 2010
Architectural Digest Home Design Show, Pier 94 - New York, NY. Garry will have work with: Historical Woods/National Treasures, Mar 18 2010 - Mar 21 2010
Form & Function, The Atrium, San Francisco, CA. Garry will have an exhibition together with Alison McLennan, Feb 22 2010 - Apr 8 2010
Inspired by China, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Contemporary Furniture Makers Explore Chinese Traditions, Nov 1 2006 - Mar 4 2007
Under Cover: Upholstery in Contemporary Furniture, Gallery NAGA, Boston, MA, Nov 11 2005 - Dec 17 2005
Turning Around the World, Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA, Nov 4 2005 - Jan 7 2005
Scents of Purpose: Artists Interpret the Spice Box, The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA, May 4 2005 - Sep 5 2005
California Design 2004, Baulines Guild, San Francisco, CA, Jan 1 2004 - Jan 1 2004
Dovetailing Art and Life: The Bennett Collection, San Francisco Museum of Craft + Design, San Francisco, Jan 1 2004 - Jan 1 2004
The Maker's Hand: American Studio Furniture 1940-1990, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, Nov 12 2003 - Feb 8 2004
The Right Stuff: A Juried exhibition of Upholstered Furniture, Humanities Gallery; Gallery of Art and Design; Fuller Museum; Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, University of Wisconsin-Madison; North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; Brockton, MA; Houston, TX, May 31 2003 - Jun 14 2003
20th Anniversary Exhibition: A Celebration of Work by Artists Exhibited Over the Last 20 Years, Snyderman Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, May 2 2003 - Jun 28 2003
Turned Multiples III, Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA, Mar 7 2003 - Apr 26 2003
Corporal Identity - Body Language, 9th Triennial, Museum of Arts & Design, the Museum für Angewandte Kunst, the Klingspor-Museum, New York; Frankfurt, Germany; Offenbach, GermanyJan 1 2003 - Jan 1 2003
Materials & Contemporary Illusions: Innovations in Lathe Turning, The Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery, Brookfield, CT, Aug 25 2002 - Oct 13 2002
25 Years of Fine Craftsmanship: Brookfield Craft Center Faculty 1976-2000, The Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery & The Silo Gallery, Brookfield, CT, Jun 10 2001 - Jul 29 2001
Material Witness: Masters from California Crafts, Crocker Museum, Sacramento, California, Oct 29 1999 - Jan 2 2000
The Art of Craft: Works from the Saxe Collection, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, Jun 26 1999 - Oct 17 1999
Hello Again!: A New Wave of Recycled Art and Design, Oakland Museum, Oakland, California, Feb 15 1997 - Jul 27 1997
Hot Rods and Customs: The Men and Machines of "California's Car Culture"Oakland Museum, Oakland, California, Aug 12 1996 - Oct 19 1996
Museum for a New Century, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, May 13 1995 - Dec 31 1995
Masterworks II, Peter Joseph Gallery, New York, Jan 20 1994 - Feb 26 1994
American Crafts: The Nation's Collection, The Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Apr 1 1991 - Apr 1 1991
A California Complement: Recent Studio Furniture from the Bay Area, The Oakland Museum (in conjunction with New American Furniture: The Second Generation of Studio Furniture makers), Oakland, California, Feb 9 1991 - Apr 21 1991
Explorations ll: The New Furniture, The American Craft Museum, New York, 05 9 - 08 4Jan 1 1991 - Jan 1 1991
Art for Everyday, Snyderman Gallery, Philadelphia, Sep 2 1990 - Oct 7 1990
Oakland Artists '90, The Oakland Museum, Oakland, California, Mar 24 1990 - Jul 1 1990
Traveling Exhibition: New American Furniture: The Second Generation of Studio Furniture makers, Museum of Fine Arts; Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution; The Contemporary Arts Center; The Oakland Museum, Boston; Washington, D.C.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Oakland, California, Dec 8 1989 - Apr 21 1991
Contemporary Furniture: 13 Major Figures, Gallery NAGA, Boston, Dec 7 1989
Innovations in Wood, The Society for Art in Crafts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Nov 16 1989 - Jan 7 1990
Contemporary Furniture from San Francisco and Boston, Gallery NAGA, Boston, Mar 30 1989 - Apr 29 1989
Traveling Exhibition: Craft Today USA, The American Craft Museum; Musée des Arts Décoratifs; Museum of Applied Art; Museum fuer Kunsthandwerk; Zacheta Gallery; Musée des Arts Décoratifs; Museum of Decorative Applied & FolkArt; State Painting & Sculpture Muse, New York; Paris; Helsinki; Frankfurt; Warsaw; Lausanne; Moscow; Ankara; Oslo; Ghent; Berlin; Athens; Bratislava; Leipzig; Barcelona; Lisbon, Jan 1 1989 - Jan 1 1993
California Furnishings: A Statewide Survey of Progressive Design, Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, Monterey, California, Dec 12 1988 - Feb 28 1988
Traveling Exhibition: Craft Today: Poetry of the Physical, American Craft Museum; Denver Art Museum; Laguna Art Museum; Milwaukee Art Museum; J. B. Speed Museum; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, New York; Denver; Laguna Beach, California; Milwaukee; Louisville, Kentucky; Richmond, Virginia, Oct 26 1986 - Mar 22 1987
Fine Wood, Euphrat Gallery, De Anza College, Cupertino, California, Mar 25 1986 - May 8 1986
Contemporary American Woodworkers, Snyderman Gallery, Philadelphia, Dec 8 1985 - Jan 19 1986
Traveling Exhibition: Material Evidence: New Color Techniques in Handmade Furniture, Workbench Gallery; The Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, New York; Washington, D.C., Apr 11 1984 - Sep 22 1985
Craft and Folk Art Museum, (was the Egg and the Eye), Los Angeles, Jan 1 1981 - Jan 1 1981
Elements Gallery, New York, Jan 1 1981 - Jan 1 1981
Alumni Show, California College of Arts and Crafts Oakland, California, Jan 1 1981 - Jan 1 1981
California Woodworking, The Oakland Museum, Oakland, California, Dec 16 1980 - Feb 15 1981
Traveling Exhibition: New Handmade Furniture: American Furniture Makers Working in Hard Wood, Museum of Contemporary Crafts (now The American Craft Museum); Ontario Science Center; Parkersburg Art Center; Loch Haven Art Center; Norton Gallery and School of Art; Southern Highland Handicraft Guild; Brooks Memorial Art Gallery; Arkansas Art Center, New York; Toronto, Canada; WV; Orlando, FL; West Palm Beach, FL; Asheville, NC; Memphis, TN; Little Rock, AK; Jackson; OH; Nashville TN, May 5 1979 - Jul 15 1981
Bay Area Artists Exhibition, Invitational, Oakland Museum, Oakland, California, Jun 11 1977
Bay Area Artists Exhibition, Invitational, Oakland Museum, Oakland, California, Aug 22 1975
Euphrat Gallery, De Anza College, Cupertino, California, Jan 1 1974 - Jan 1 1974
Metal Experience, The Oakland Museum, Jun 5 1971 - Jul 4 1971
Sculpture Annual, San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, Jan 1 1961 - Jan 1 1961
79th Annual Painting and Sculpture Exhibition of the San Francisco Art Association, San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, Mar 24 1960 - Apr 24 1960
Garry Knox Bennett, Winfield Gallery, Carmel-by-the-sea, CA, Garry has all new work on display as of May, 2016.

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