Gretchen Bender
1951–2004
Introduction
Gretchen Bender (1951 in Seaford, Delaware – December 19, 2004 in New York City) was an American artist who worked in film, video, and photography. She was from the so-called 1980s Pictures Generation of artists, which included Cindy Sherman, Robert Longo, Jack Goldstein, Laurie Simmons and Richard Prince, and who mixed elements of Conceptual Art and Pop Art using images from popular culture to examine its powerful codes.
Bender also designed the credits for the TV show America's Most Wanted, which Roberta Smith of the New York Times suggested in 2004 "may have originated the rapid-fire hyper-editing now pervasive in film, television and video art." She also directed music videos for such musicians as Babes in Toyland; edited music videos directed by Robert Longo; and designed sets for choreographers Bill T. Jones and Molissa Fenley, including the former's Still/Here that New Yorker dance critic Arlene Croce condemned.
Her work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Pompidou Center in Paris and the Menil Collection in Houston.
Bender is one of five artists that art historian Patrick Frank examines in his 2024 book Art of the 1980s: As If the Digital Mattered.
Wikidata identifier
Q16971271
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed January 2, 2026.
Introduction
Bender's early work combined abstract art, photography, and advertising to critique popular and dominant cultures and to contrast the human condition with modern industry. She also directed and edited music videos. Her work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Menil Collection, and the Centre Georges Pompidou.
Country of birth
United States
Roles
Artist, installation artist, photographer, video artist
ULAN identifier
500043320
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed January 2, 2026.
Not on view
