Fletcher Benton is a contemporary American artist best known for his kinetic sculptures. Throughout his oeuvre, Benton plays with shapes, lines, balance, and movement to create gravity-defying sculptures of all sizes, as well as abstract geometric works on paper. Initially working as a sign painter, he increasingly felt limited by two-dimensional painting, driving him towards his current practice of making sculptures with moving parts. He began his celebrated Alphabet series—comprised of 26 large-scale steel sculptures of the letters of the alphabet—in the 1970s. More recently, Benton has transitioned into using more traditional materials like bronze and steel for his large abstract works. “I try to find the best relationship of the parts I am going to use…and they aren’t arbitrary,” Benton has said. “I spend a long time—in a short time—putting these things where they ring my bell. I don’t know when it’s going to happen. I go down [to my studio] and play…and I get something that’s interesting.” Born on February 25, 1931, in Jackson, OH, Benton received his formal training at Miami University in Oxford, OH. His work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, both in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., among others. Benton lives and works in San Francisco, CA.