Lynda Benglis gathers her fountains in a private garden in Madrid

Lynda Benglis Fuentes Jardín Banca March
5th March – 30th June, 2024
Banca March Gardens
Castelló, 77
(Madrid, Spain)

From the end of February to June 2024, Banca March’s gardens in Madrid will set the scene for four monumental artworks by the creator Lynda Benglis. This is the first time that the work of this leading 20th and 21st century US sculptor has been displayed in Spain.

In 1970, Life magazine lauded her as the heir to Jackson Pollock and in 2022 she was selected by The New York Times for its special issue The Greats, which celebrates four “inimitable artists whose talents have cemented their place in culture” every year. At 82 years old, six decades after she started work, Lynda is still creating.

“I’ve always wanted to make fountains. Growing up on a lake, near the water, was what made me want to work with water and its movement (…) The water flows over and around them. They are like eruptions that spring from the earth, and the water articulates that explosive character. This is something that is felt in the body, the pull of gravity. I’ve always been very aware of this, and it manifests itself in my work, probably in all my work, in one way or another,” (1) said the artist. This work is now on display at an installation entitled Lynda Benglis Fuentes Jardín Banca March.

Banca March’s unwavering commitment to culture and art is evident in this four-piece installation by Lynda Benglis, designed in partnership with Vande, a global firm specialising in the private sale of works of art and cultural productions and focused around the idea of fountains and water as evocative symbols of the concept of sustainability.

Since it was founded in 1926, Banca March has remained utterly committed to generating a positive impact on its surroundings and contributing to the development of society. Banca March is committed to delivering both economic and social value in a way which is both environmentally friendly and sustainable over time, underpinned by a unique business model based on shared growth for customers, employees, shareholders and society as a whole.

With its hundred-year anniversary just around the corner in 2026, Banca March is set to open the gardens of its Madrid headquarters two days a week until June. During this time, visitors will have the chance to enjoy these four fountains, which are distributed around the Banca March gardens, a haven of green nestling in the shade of an early twentieth century landmark building in Madrid’s Salamanca neighbourhood.

Banca March CEO José Luis Acea said: “Exhibiting Lynda Benglis’ sculptures in the Banca March gardens holds great meaning for us and makes perfect sense. Both the idea of the exhibition and the philosophy of the US artist align perfectly with our banking and business philosophy.

Banca March is Spain’s most solvent bank, specialising in private banking and advisory services for investors, companies and business families, with a business model that focuses on far more than simply generating financial profits. Since its inception almost 100 years ago, Banca March has remained faithful to its commitment to shared growth with customers, employees, shareholders and society in general. Our roots are in the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, so the sea, water, and the vital need for its conservation are woven into our DNA.

This was evidenced back in 2019 when we created Mediterranean Fund, an investment fund designed to combine sustainability and returns, which invests in the oceans as a source of wealth and in water as a scarce, indispensable resource to be conserved.

As the only bank in the Spanish financial system which has been wholly family-owned bank since its creation, we are determined to respond effectively and responsibly to the changes demanded by society, with a long-term approach, to ensure we build a better world for future generations.” Regarding the importance of Lynda Benglis’ work, Anne Pontégnie, who curated the exhibition alongside Vande, said: “Lynda Benglis is a colossal figure in contemporary sculpture. Her work can be interpreted as a constant
effort to capture movement, an attempt to freeze and express the flow, the embodiment of life.”

Lynda Benglis Fuentes Jardín Banca March opens on the 5th of March until the 30th of June, 2024 at Banca March Gardens

©2024 Lynda Benglis