detail from People in Pain, 1988
paint on heat-set vinyl and neon, 84 × 560 × 11 in. (213.4 × 1422.4 × 27.9 cm)
remade by PHILIP VANDERHYDEN,2014. The Estate of Gretchen Bender
photograph by PHILIP VANDERHYDEN

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Today’s image shows a detail from the monumental wall sculpture People in Pain (1988) by GRETCHEN BENDER (1951-2004) which consists of a crumpled field of vinyl backlit with neon illuminating a series of movie titles. The original work never found a permanent home; it fell into disrepair and was discarded after BENDER’s death in 2004. Over the past two years American artist PHILIP VANDERHYDEN has worked to reconstruct and exhibit a number of BENDER’s works including People in Pain with an interest in how the piece’s “reappearance” illustrates the way “our cultural experiences live and die.

➝ a part of this installation is currently on view in the group exhibition Bad Influence curated by ANDREW J.GREENE at Michael Thibault Gallery in Los Angeles. You can also view more images of this work here.

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