Billy Al Bengston
Billy Al Bengston was a Los Angeles painter who adapted automotive lacquer, enamel, metallic paint, and aluminum to fine art and high-gloss surfaces.
Painter
Craig Kauffman
Craig Kauffman was a U.S. artist who spray-applied acrylic lacquer to vacuum-formed Plexiglas reliefs associated with Finish Fetish and Light and Space.
Craig Kauffman quick facts
Kauffman's documented materials range from early oil paintings on canvas to sprayed acrylic lacquer on industrially shaped translucent plastic.
| Born | 1932 · Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | 2010 · Angeles City, Philippines |
| Nationality | American |
| Movements | Finish Fetish · Light and Space · early Abstract Expressionism |
| Paint types | Acrylic lacquer · Acrylic paint · Oil paint (early works) |
| Painting surfaces | Plexiglass and sheet acrylic (vacuum-formed plastic) · Canvas (early oils) · Paper (acrylic and ink studies) |
| Painting methods | Spray-painting sheet acrylic for even coverage; vacuum-forming plastic into raised shapes, then painting and finishing the reliefs |
| Common subjects | Abstract color fields, bulbous sculptural forms, translucent surfaces, reflective highlights, and shifts in light |
| Industrial process | Commercial vacuum forming of acrylic plastic, with artist-applied final color and finishing |
| Notable works | Red-Blue · Yellow Orange · Untitled (1968 sprayed-acrylic lacquer wall relief) |
Sources: LACMA: Yellow Orange and spray-painting process, Norton Simon Museum: sprayed acrylic lacquer on formed Plexiglass, MoMA: Red-Blue (1964), Estate catalogue raisonné: 1952 oil on canvas, Whitney Museum: acrylic and ink on paper, Smithsonian Archives: artist biography and associations, and Estate website: painting and industrial material practice.
Paint types used by Craig Kauffman
Kauffman moved from oil and acrylic paintings to sprayed acrylic lacquer on molded Plexiglas, letting the coating follow the sculptural shape of each work.
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Oil paint
SFMOMA catalogs Kauffman’s Untitled (1960) as oil on board and linen. This early painting documents his use of traditional media before his best-known molded plastic reliefs. The collection record identifies both supports and makes clear that his oil painting practice is distinct from the sprayed acrylic lacquer he later applied to shaped Plexiglas.
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Acrylic paint
The Whitney records Kauffman’s Untitled (1973) as acrylic and ink on paper. Acrylic is the paint medium; ink is a separate drawing material in this mixed-media sheet. This work documents a flat painted surface alongside the shaped plastic reliefs and oil paintings in his broader practice.
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Acrylic lacquer
The Norton Simon Museum records Kauffman’s 1968 Untitled relief as sprayed acrylic lacquer on vacuum-formed Plexiglas. The lacquer finish is applied to the shaped plastic support; it is not ordinary acrylic paint. This specific industrial material marks his move from flat paintings toward sculptural wall reliefs.
Sources: SFMOMA: Untitled (1960), oil on board and linen; Whitney Museum: Untitled (1973), acrylic and ink on paper; Norton Simon Museum: Untitled (1968), acrylic lacquer on vacuum-formed Plexiglas; LACMA: Yellow Orange and Kauffman’s spray-painting process.
Painting surfaces used by Craig Kauffman
The documented supports include plexiglass and canvas, and the rows below connect each surface to works by Craig Kauffman through collection records.
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Plexiglass
Kauffman formed Plexiglas and sheet acrylic into sculptural supports for his sprayed acrylic-lacquer works. Museum records identify vacuum-formed plastic in the 1968 reliefs, where the curved, colored shapes project from the wall. The material is both the support and part of the work’s sculptural structure, unlike canvas or paper.
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Canvas
Kauffman’s early paintings include oil on canvas, documented in museum records from the 1950s and early 1960s. These flat works precede the shaped plastic reliefs that became central to his practice. The textile support provides a clear distinction between his early paintings and later objects made from formed Plexiglas.
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Paper
The Whitney catalogs Kauffman’s Untitled (1973) as acrylic and ink on paper. The sheet documents a flat support in his practice after his transition to three-dimensional plastic reliefs. The collection entry names the support and both media, distinguishing this work from his earlier oil paintings on canvas and board.
Sources: LACMA: Yellow Orange and spray-painting process, Norton Simon Museum: sprayed acrylic lacquer on formed Plexiglass, MoMA: Red-Blue (1964), Estate catalogue raisonné: 1952 oil on canvas, Whitney Museum: acrylic and ink on paper.
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