Awash in Color: Karl Benjamin on Geoform

Karl Benjamin, #6, 1990, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches. These images courtesy of the artist and Louis Stern Fine Arts, via Geoform

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Karl Benjamin, a founding father of geometric abstraction, is the subject of a newly posted, long and in-depth interview with Geoform editor Julie Karabenick.

"Quite early on, I began to develop a strong sense of shapes and the areas in between them," says Benjamin early in the interview. A lively discussion ensues, along with five decades' worth of images--including one of his studio as seen from his home. Look for it. ("I've alway been able to see my paintings through windows in my house, says the artist. "I'd keep a light on in the studio so I could see the paintings any time I needed to settle down.")

"He is simply the most wonderful, generous man, " writes Karabenick in the course of an e-mail correspondence with me. "He has helped so many younger artists, as well as having an amazing art career. I have a very deep respect for him and am glad to see he's starting to get more recognition on the East Coast--of course, he's an icon on the West. "

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A recent portrait of the artist in front of I.F. Big Magenta with Green, 1959, oil on canvas, 40 x 50 inches.

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