Douglas Bentham wins national competition for public sculpture in Edmonton

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Douglas Bentham "Skater's Arch"

Douglas Bentham "Skater's Arch"

Congratulations to Saskatoon artist Douglas Bentham on winning a national competition for a public sculpture to be placed outside of Rogers Place, Edmonton's new hockey arena, set to open in September 2016. The commission is valued at $300,000.00.

"The EAC’s national-level call was awarded to Saskatchewan’s Douglas Bentham, a 68-year-old steel sculptor active since the late ’60s. His six-metre-high Skater’s Arch will face 102nd Street and 105th Avenue to the northeast of the rink, and is inspired by the curved cuts of skate blades on the ice. The artist is hoping to make the giant, brightly coloured loop more interactive than a typical outdoor abstract sculpture.

“I’ve got kind of a mantra,” says Bentham from his acreage outside Saskatoon. “Public art must meaningfully engage the setting if it’s to become truly public. Some guys of my ilk who take things a little too seriously cringe at this statement, but you don’t need to compromise, you just need to make it more accessible.”

“I think we just have to take a chance and do something bold and meaningful.”

Douglas Bentham has maintained an international reputation as a major practitioner of abstract, constructivist sculpture for over forty years. "He is one of the country’s most prolific sculptors," writes art critic Terry Fenton, "one of its finest, one of Canada’s first sculptors in every sense." He has contributed to many international artist workshops throughout his career, including the Emma Lake Artists’ Workshop; the Triangle Artists’ Workshop, New York; and the Hardingham Sculpture Workshop, Norfolk, UK. He has presented over fifty solo exhibitions across Canada. His works can be found in many private and corporate collections. Bentham’s sculptures are also represented in the collections of numerous public institutions across Canada. He was one of the founding partners of Art Placement in 1978; his return to the roster of gallery artists was celebrated with a solo exhibition of recent works in Spring 2014. His most notable public sculpture in Saskatoon, "Unfurled", stands proud at the base of the University Bridge. More recently, "Spirit", a monumental painted steel sculpture was installed in front of the Affinity Credit Union Campus in City Park.

Report courtesy of The Gallery/art placement inc.