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.
$7,500
"Rose Blush", young woman swimming underwater in a pink bathing suit, summer
By Carol Bennett
Located 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. Pr...
Oil, Wood Panel
$24,000
"SUSPENSE" horizontal painting of a woman in red gliding beneath the water
By Carol Bennett
Located 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. Pr...
India Ink, Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$28,000
"Archer" swimmer in white bathing suit reflection in the water submarine blues
By Carol Bennett
Located 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. Pr...
Oil Pastel, India Ink, Oil, Wood Panel, Acrylic
$24,000
"See Water (bottles)", swimmer, seas, figurative painting, underwater reflection
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"See Water (bottles)" is a luminous oil on wood panel painting by Carol Bennett. It captures the quiet magic of a figure suspended just beneath the water's surface, where light, mov...
Oil, Wood Panel
$2,292
H 29.93 in W 48.04 in D 1.97 in
French Contemporary Art by M.-P. Autonne - Vue de ma Fenêtre
By Marie-Pierre Autonne
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic & oil on wooden panel Marie-Pierre Autonne is a French artist born in 1960 who lives & works in Angers, France. She studied at Penninghen in Paris, France. She work...
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$1,146
H 19.69 in W 19.69 in D 1.58 in
French Contemporary Art by M.-P. Autonne - Le Bleu des Horizons
By Marie-Pierre Autonne
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic and oil on wooden panel Marie-Pierre Autonne is a French artist born in 1960 who lives & works in Angers, France. She studied at Penninghen in Paris, France. She worked for ...
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
Regrets
By Jolynn Reigeluth
Located in Kansas City, MO
Jolynn Reigeluth Regrets Acrylic, India Ink, linocut and cut paper on wood panel Year: 2022 Size: 24x18x2.5 in Framed Size: 24x18x2.5 in Ready to hang Signed COA provided Ref.: 92480...
Paper, India Ink, Acrylic, Wood Panel, Linocut
$4,813
H 48.04 in W 59.85 in D 1.78 in
French Contemporary Art by M.-P. Autonne - Fragment d’Éternité
By Marie-Pierre Autonne
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic & oil on wooden panel Marie-Pierre Autonne is a French artist born in 1960 who lives & works in Angers, France. She studied at Penninghen in Paris, France. She worked for se...
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$1,400
H 17 in W 14 in
Feelings - Figurative work on paper with ballerinas and text
By Adam Baranello
Located in East Quogue, NY
Original mixed media work on paper by Adam Baranello. Mixed media, acrylic, spray paint on canvas. Size 17 x 14 in. Offered unframed. Ships rolled Multidisciplinary artist Adam Ba...
Oil Pastel, Ink, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$2,635
H 27.56 in W 39.38 in D 1.78 in
French Contemporary Art by M.-P. Autonne - Le Blanc des Bouleaux
By Marie-Pierre Autonne
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic & oil on wooden panel Marie-Pierre Autonne is a French artist born in 1960 who lives & works in Angers, France. She studied at Penninghen in Paris, France. She worked for se...
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$3,208
H 31.5 in W 31.5 in D 1.19 in
French Contemporary Art by M.-P. Autonne - Bleu Loire
By Marie-Pierre Autonne
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic & oil on wooden panel Marie-Pierre Autonne is a French artist born in 1960 who lives & works in Angers, France. She studied at Penninghen in Paris, France. She worked for se...
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$5,730
H 36.23 in W 23.63 in
No. 217 by Hongyu Zhang - Contemporary portrait painting, mixed media
By Zhang Hongyu
Located in Paris, FR
No. 217 is a unique painting by contemporary artist Hongyu Zhang. The painting is made with Indian ink, acrylic, pastel and engraving on grey cardboard mounted on canvas, dimensions ...
Canvas, Pastel, India Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Cardboard, Engraving
$1,975
H 24 in W 48 in
Foundations of Insight - Original Moody Mixed Media Surrealist Figurative Art
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Robert Lebsack creates artworks using mixed media with ink, acrylic, and charcoal on archival copies of newspapers, textbooks, and sheet music. As a visionary artist, Lebsack weaves ...
Charcoal, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel, Archival Paper
$5,546
H 48.04 in W 29.93 in D 1.58 in
French Contemporary Art by M.-P. Autonne - Les Poissons Rêvent en Couleurs
By Marie-Pierre Autonne
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic & oil on wooden panel Marie-Pierre Autonne is a French artist born in 1960 who lives & works in Angers, France. She studied at Penninghen in Paris, France. She work...
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$920
H 12 in W 9 in D 0.5 in
Canadian Contemporary Art by Christian Frederiksen - Takakkaw Falls
By Christian Frederiksen
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on wood panel Christian Frederiksen is a Georgian artist born in 1989 who lives and works in Calgary, Canada. He loves to experiment with new ways of creating imagery by collabo...
Oil, Wood Panel
$1,600
H 31 in W 24 in D 2 in
Street Art Pop Art, Hand Painted Acrylic on Panel, 31x24 inches Fun Figurative
By Bustart
Located in New York, NY
TITLE: "RIDING CARROTS IN THE WILD" Hand painted and stencilled on panel In 1999 BustArt began his artistic career with classic Graffiti. Until 2005, he became familiar with the w...
Spray Paint, Acrylic, Wood Panel
Sold
H 22.5 in W 30 in
"SUSPENSE on paper" painting of a woman in red suit gliding beneath the water
By Carol Bennett
Located 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. Pr...
India Ink, Oil, Acrylic, Paper