Howard Ben Tré

When sculptor Howard Ben Tré arrived in Providence in the late 1970s, he was inspired by what he called “the detritus of the industrial revolution . . . those geometries that comprise the mechanical nature of manufacturing . . . so I started making things which again had this architectural presence.” The textured cast surface of these benches recalls ancient glass, while their angular forms with bronze mounts speak to modern design. His initial drawings planned for multiple Styrofoam models, followed by a sand cast into which he poured glass heated to 2000°F or higher, requiring six weeks to cool. He cast his large-scale works at an industrial foundry and finished them in his Rhode Island studio.

–Elizabeth A. Williams, David and Peggy Rockefeller Curator of Decorative Arts and Design