"Break Time (paper)" abstract painting of a woman swimming in teal water
Carol Bennett"Break Time (paper)" abstract painting of a woman swimming in teal water2020
2020
About the Item
Carol Bennett
Splitting her time between Hawaii and California, Carol Bennett (b. 1954) has mastered the art of capturing movement in her enigmatic paintings.
While Bennett has garnered praise for the meditative sensibility that characterizes her paintings as well as a bold use of bright colors, some of her works are more famous than others. In fact, her “Women in Water” series is perhaps her most well-known collection. As its name implies, the series features women swimming. They’re captured from an underwater perspective, and their faces are either out of frame entirely or obscured by the sun-dappled surface of the water, which serves as a showcase for Bennett’s portrayal of the qualities of sunlight. The upper half of each painting is flecked with the blues and greens of the ocean as well as whatever color the subject’s bathing suit happens to be.
The series originated with Bennett sketching swimmers at an athletic club’s pool in Los Angeles, but as her process evolved, her husband, Wayne Zebzda, began to film the artist on her daily swim on Kauai. The resultant images inform her work, but she doesn’t consider these works to be depictions of her in particular.
“I swim seven days a week, and while I don’t consider them self-portraits, I am the swimmer in the paintings,” Bennett has said.
Given her constant proximity to the ocean, it’s no surprise that Bennett is inspired by water’s glassy properties, citing its presence as both “a mirror and then a window.” Her radiant paintings, whether she’s working with oil and shellac on paper or wood panels, allow her to explore sunlight in such a rich and provocative way that it’s as if she endeavors to suspend rays of light above the water’s surface, making them seem as tangible and physical as the swimmers themselves.
Aside from her works that hang on the walls of galleries and museums around the world, Bennett has also painted murals and even a 48-foot photovoltaic solar canopy for the Hawaii State Art Museum Sculpture Garden.
Find Carol Bennett’s paintings on 1stDibs.
- "Listening (Paper)" Figurative abstract oil painting of people in the oceanBy Carol BennettLocated in Edgartown, MA"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. P...Category
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- "The Pool at Night 4" Oil painting of a woman floating in turquoise waterBy Elizabeth LennieLocated in Edgartown, MAWater has been the backdrop to the significant events in my life. The reconstruction of radiant moments that exist in memory define the images I choose to paint, of swimming in the ...Category
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- "Paradise" Abstract oil painting of a woman swimming above pink and purple waterBy Elizabeth LennieLocated in Edgartown, MAWater has been the backdrop to the significant events in my life. The reconstruction of radiant moments that exist in memory define the images I choose to paint, of swimming in the ...Category
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- "Meditation Swim" abstract oil painting of woman wading in blue, turquoise waterBy Elizabeth LennieLocated in Edgartown, MAWater has been the backdrop to the significant events in my life. The reconstruction of radiant moments that exist in memory define the images I choose to paint, of swimming in the l...Category
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- "Paradise Study" abstract oil painting of a swimmer floating, pink and purpleBy Elizabeth LennieLocated in Edgartown, MAWater has been the backdrop to the significant events in my life. The reconstruction of radiant moments that exist in memory define the images I choose to paint, of swimming in the l...Category
2010s Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
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- Porkparty, gestural abstraction w figure, energy, blue and neutral tonesBy C. DimitriLocated in Brooklyn, NYBelongs to a series of colliding male figures. Feeling like this in the air lately.Category
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MaterialsCharcoal, Oil, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Permanent Marker
- "Kinetic Icon: Mirrored" Abstract Geometrical Knot Painting Work on Paper FramedBy Wolfgang LeidholdLocated in New York, NYWolfgang Leidhold is a prominent contemporary German painter, drawing upon mythological, geometric, religious, and historical themes to depict his whimsical vision of the world. Infl...Category
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- "Eve" Abstract Figure with Gown French Haute Couture Oil Painting on PaperBy Cindy ShaoulLocated in New York, NYExploring the purity of the feminine form and the drama of French haute couture, artist Cindy Shaoul creates a dialogue between the figurative and the abstract. Her spirited composit...Category
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- "Tovah" Abstract Figure with Gown French Haute Couture Oil Painting on PaperBy Cindy ShaoulLocated in New York, NYExploring the purity of the feminine form and the drama of French haute couture, artist Cindy Shaoul creates a dialogue between the figurative and the abstract. Her spirited composit...Category
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- "Rafita" Abstract Figure with Gown French Haute Couture Oil Painting on PaperBy Cindy ShaoulLocated in New York, NYExploring the purity of the feminine form and the drama of French haute couture, artist Cindy Shaoul creates a dialogue between the figurative and the abstract. Her spirited composit...Category
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic