Parrasch Heijnen Gallery presents Billy Al Bengston: Dentos, 1965 - 1970, the gallery`s first solo exhibition of this legendary Los Angeles artist. Billy Al Bengston (b. 1934, Dodge City, KS) first began using automobile lacquers on dented and/or punctured aluminum in 1965 to challenge the limitations of painting. He initially called these works `Canto Indentos`, which he later shortened to `Dentos`. Channeling the `no rules, no rules` mantra of Bengston’s friend and mentor Peter Voulkos, the “Dentos” expanded the potential of the picture plane. It was in the late 1950s that Bengston originated his trademark inclusion of single, centralized icons in his work, primarily referencing three appropriated images: “Chevrons” (sergeant stripes haloed within an orb within a rectangle), “Draculas” (flowers illustrated on Iris brand sugar packets), and hearts (of the Valentine’s Day variety). In
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