The Demuth Museum’s current exhibition features the watercolors of Eva Stina Bender. For the first time in many years, Bender spent last winter in her native Sweden. The impetus for the trip was family, but the body of work that emerged while she was there is unique. Bender, who works primarily in watercolor that has its underpinnings in pencil drawings, took the stark light and raw winter landscape and created very fresh and contemporary works. Using smaller format paper, which was given to her by a friend, these winter landscapes are minimalist and form a new contemporary aspect to her work. For those familiar with Bender’s lush representations of the flora and fauna of the Mt. Gretna area, these never-before-exhibited works will provide an insightful contrast to those works, and help to unlock the artist’s methodology.
Eva Stina Bender, Sky I, 2009, watercolor and graphite on paper, 4 x 9 1/4, Collection of the Artist, Courtesy The Demuth Museum, Lancaster, PA.
The second portion of the exhibit will focus on Bender’s summer travels to Sweden. This portion of the exhibit will contrast to the winter scenes in that sparse scenes are infused with green blades of grass, bright spots of colorful wild flowers and unexpected details such as a branch full of leaves, a red mushroom or a few ripples in the water, allowing the viewer to sense the vastness of the sea, the calm of a meadow, a quiet front porch, or the coolness of a rock.
Bender studied painting but found herself working in the field of journalism because she thought it was “safer.” After studying as an exchange student in the US, Bender married and continued to live here. She is self-taught in watercolor and employs the traditional techniques; yet the artist allows herself freedom to explore the medium in new ways. As a teacher, she affords her students this freedom as well. Bender believes letting the watercolor bloom or leaving the work in what others would consider an “unfinished” state is an important experience for her as an artist as well as a teacher.
Exhibition on view April 3 – May 1, 2010. The Demuth Museum. 120 E. King Street, Lancaster, PA 17602.
Regular Museum Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10-4 and Sunday, 1-4.
