A pioneering multimedia artist, Gretchen Bender worked with video, computer graphics, photography, sound, printmaking, and installation. She was part of a feminist and Marxist screen-printing collective in Washington and gained prominence in New York as an artist associated with post-appropriation, a practice that sought to question the massive acceleration of images and media. She was a member of the Pictures Generation of 1980s artists.
In her artistic practice, Bender brought together moving images—first through single-channel videos and later through her immersive “electronic theater” projects. The 14th Mercosul Biennial presents one of her large-scale installations, Dumping Core, composed of 13 monitors and 4 channels, showcasing image saturation through frenetic editing and varied audio mixes designed to overwhelm the audience. Bender intended for the work—rarely exhibited—to be presented in a somewhat theatrical manner, with seating, in a darkened space.
Anelise Valls
Gretchen Bender (United States, 1951-2004) was an artist whose multidisciplinary practice included printmaking, video, television, and sculpture, examining the rise of mass media and the development of technology and corporate culture. Gretchen Bender's works are part of the permanent collections of major institutions such as MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Modern, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Centre Georges Pompidou, and the Menil Collection in Houston. She lived much of her life in New York, United States.
