Secret Future Works

Bosnian Secret Future Work

Open in the year 2001

mixed media, 9.25 x 6.5 x 7 inches

Benton has traveled the world for over 30 years, engaging in diverse cultures and bringing their rich heritage into her art. She introduces a patron’s cultural matrix in the individually tailored Secret Future Works. The collectors' histories infuse the work with memorabilia and conversation. These later opened ceremonially at an auspicious time. The artist's wall and standing secret works comment on the world we inhabit and upon our shared humanity. Oftentimes, people are invited to put their secret messages in the inner spaces, as in the works created during residencies in Spain, Ireland, England, India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, the USA and Bosnia.

Secret Future Works

Suzanne Benton began creating Secret Future locked mixed media art works in 1989. Their rich and complex surfaces are remarkable unopened, while the locked portions allow for contemplation of what the future holds.

Benton reveals many intentions with this series based on a concept new to art. Secret Future Works rely on and enclose the future. By requiring us to wait until a certain date to discover the insides, they confront the surge for instant gratification that our culture goads us to indulge. These works demand a holding back of our impatience for immediate satisfaction, offering instead the promise of a future in uncertain times. By offering an opportunity not only for the contemplation of their striking exteriors but also for the patient and impatient consideration of what remains hidden, these sculptures heighten our appreciation of mystery. They require us to trust, hope, gestate, and honor what remains concealed to be one day be revealed.

Spanish Secret Future Work, Open in the year 2006

mixed media, 9.5 x 5.5 x 6 inches

Secret Future Work #4

Open in the year 2000

steel, copper and mixed media, 59.5 x 25.5 x 3.5 inches

Peruvian Secret Treasure Box

Open in the year 2000

mixed media, 17.25 x 9.5 x 9.5 inches