Named a James Renwick Alliance Master of the Medium in 2011, Garry Knox Bennett is celebrated for his irreverent and unconventional approach to materials and design as well as his magnificent technical abilities. Born in Alameda, California, Bennett was raised by his grandparents and would later enroll at the California College of Arts and Crafts, where he studied drawing, painting, and metalworking. Bennett opened his first studio in northern California in the 1960s, making jewelry as well as roach clips: "I was the roach clip mogul of the world for a while,” he recalled in his oral history interview with the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. He went on to create many celebrated, one-of-a-kind pieces including his infamous Nail Cabinet and an extensive variety of chairs. Works by Bennett are included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Arts and Design, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among others.
I was once introduced in Berea, KY, as the Hunter S. Thompson of woodworking. Goddamn, I always loved that. I just thought that was terrific.
Garry Knox Bennett
