Billy Al Bengston Art

Visually bright and dynamic work by expressive California artist Bengston. Colors are crisp and the oversize sheet and size mays for strong visual impact in a room. Newly framed in...

A lacquer-and-polyester-resin-on-aluminum artwork from the 1969 "Mesquite Western" series by important, West Coast artist, Billy Al Bengston (b. 1934). Authentication on reverse. B...

Billy Al Bengston Honolulu Watercolor, 1992 Watercolor on handmade paper with deckled edge in artist's hand made frame with studio label verso Signed, titled and dated in pencil lowe...

Billy Al Bengston Turkey Dracula, 1973 Color lithograph with hand coloring and watercolor (unique variant) on Lanaquaralle paper with deckled edges Hand signed and numbered A.P. #6, ...

Billy Al Bengston Sweet Filthy Cheat, 2004 Watercolor and acrylic on paper Signed, dated and titled on the front Frame included Unique This unique work, with it's charmingly sly tit...

Billy Al Bengston LA 1984 (with official COA from Olympic Committee), 1982 Offset Lithograph and lithograph on Parson's Diploma paper (hand signed), with COA from Olympic Committee &...

Artist: Billy Al Bengston – American (1934-2022) Title: Untitled Year: 1990 Medium: Lithograph, silkscreen on Arches paper Sight size: 19.5 x 25.5 inches. Sheet size: 24 x 30 inches. Signature: Signed lower right Publisher: Cirrus Editions, Ltd., Los Angeles, CA Edition: 250 This one: 120/250 Condition: Excellent This print is by Billy Al Bengston. It depicts what looks like a coyote staring out at the horizon on a full moon night. This print was created at the same time Bengston was creating his Moon paintings. The print has dark colors. As a result, my photographs are imperfect; they have a bit of glare. The print is in excellent condition. It is attached by two hinges to a matboard measuring 26 x 32 inches and has a Plexiglas frame. The frame is in fair condition with some light scratches. Billy Al Bengston (June 7, 1934 – October 8, 2022) was an American visual artist and sculptor who lived and worked in Venice, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii. Bengston was probably best known for work he created that reflected California's "Kustom" car and motorcycle culture. He pioneered the use of sprayed layers of automobile lacquer in fine art and often used colors that were psychedelic and shapes that were mandala-like. ARTnews referred to Bengston as a "giant of Los Angeles's postwar art scene." Early life and education Bengston was born in Dodge City, Kansas, on June 7, 1934. His family relocated to Los Angeles in 1948. He attended Los Angeles City College in 1952. Subsequently, he studied painting under Richard Diebenkorn and Saburo Hasegawa at the California College of Arts and Crafts, in Oakland, California, in 1955 and returned to Los Angeles to study at Otis Art Institute in 1956. Career Bengston began showing with the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles (founded and run by Walter Hopps and Edward Kienholz, and later Irving Blum), having five shows between 1958 and 1963. As a fixture at the gallery, he was among a cohort of artists that included Kienholz, Ed Ruscha, Larry Bell, Kenneth Price, Ed Moses, and Robert Irwin. (The gallery closed in 1966.) In a 2018 article in Vanity Fair, Bengston recalled that he and Irwin hung the 32 pieces in Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup-can paintings show at Ferus in 1962. He notably described the atmosphere of Ferus as a "macho intellectual gang bang". After seeing the work of Jasper Johns at the 1958 Venice Biennale he adopted the motif of a set of sergeant's stripes. This recurring chevron image was painted with industrial materials and techniques associated with the decoration of motorcycle fuel tanks and surfboards. According to Grace Glueck of The New York Times, Bengston "was among the first to ditch traditional oil paint on canvas, opting instead for sprayed layers of automobile lacquer on aluminum in soft colors, achieving a highly reflective, translucent surface." Bengston encouraged viewers in the early 1960s to associate his art with motorcycle subculture; on the cover of a 1961 catalogue for a Ferus show, he was seen straddling a motorcycle. (He also competed in motocross competitions.) "When I painted these motorcycle paintings...

Billy Al Bengston Cockatoo AAA Dracula, 1968 Lithograph , Zinc and Aluminum, in Silver-Violet, Yellow, Two Grays and Orange on uncalendered Rives paper Frame included signed faintly ...

Venice, Watercolor on Paper Painting by Billy Al Bengston, 1972 A flamboyant character and a key figure in the Ferus Gallery circle in Los Angeles, Billy Al Bengston is associated with West Coast Pop and best known for spray painting dented sheets of square aluminum with lacquer. These highly finished pieces often featured car and motorcycle motifs, such as the chevron symbol placed at the center of his works, and many include Bengston’s signature sergeant’s stripes, or abstracted images of hearts. His interest in car culture would inspire Judy Chicago, a student of Bengston’s, to attend auto body school and eventually use spray paint techniques. Additional information: Medium: Watercolor on paper; Initialed and annotated in black ink Condition: Excellent Frame: Included Dimensions: 12 1/2 × 12 1/2 in 31.8 × 31.8 cm About artist: Billy Al Bengston (June 7, 1934 – October 8, 2022), the quintessential LA “bad boy,” is best known for his Chevron paintings...

Billy Al Bengston "Exposition Especial Seragraphique, Lithographique, Tapestray, Peintore en Suite, Uno-Types" Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, 1971 Exh...

Billy Al Bengston American (b. 1934) Venice Watercolor, 1975 Watercolor on paper 10 x 40 1/4 in. Initialed, inscribed and dated lower center: "B.A.B. / Venice 1975" Provenance: Bill...

Trail Beyond, Polyurethane & Lacquer on Aluminum Art by Billy Al Bengston, 1969 A flamboyant character and a key figure in the Ferus Gallery circle in Los Angeles, Billy Al Bengston is associated with West Coast Pop and best known for spray painting dented sheets of square aluminum with lacquer. These highly finished pieces often featured car and motorcycle motifs, such as the chevron symbol placed at the center of his works, and many include Bengston’s signature sergeant’s stripes, or abstracted images of hearts. His interest in car culture would inspire Judy Chicago, a student of Bengston’s, to attend auto body school and eventually use spray paint techniques. Additional information: Medium: Polyurethane and lacquer on dented aluminum Condition: Excellent Frame: Not included Dimensions: 34 × 35 in 86.4 × 88.9 cm About artist: Billy Al Bengston (June 7, 1934 – October 8, 2022), the quintessential LA “bad boy,” is best known for his Chevron paintings...