Jack Bender is a prolific television director and executive producer, with credits from HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and “The Sopranos” to ABC’s “Lost.” When he’s not with actors and crew, he’s working on new paintings and sculptures. His work is on display this winter at a new gallery in downtown Aspen.
Bender has been known to practice his art while on set.
“If it’s taking an exorbitant amount of time to light a set, I'll go into the other room and throw some paint around," he said.
His style is visceral. He said it’s been like that since he was a kid, when he would ride his bike through the alleys of Los Angeles.
“I was fascinated by stuff that was thrown out like old doors and pipes and wheels," he said.
His most renowned piece, "The Elephant in the Room," is emblematic of this style. It now hangs in the new Taylor DaineGoulet Gallery +, where Gallery 1949 was before. Bender said making art for the big screen and the canvas are one in the same.
“I get as lost watching an actor do a scene that I'm directing as watching a brushstroke on the canvas," said Bender. "You just get lost in that other world, and it's a wonderful place to be, you know, you can't live there all the time, but it sure is tempting.”
For more information visit tdggallery.com.
