Benjamin’s work epitomizes the 20th century trajectory of abstract art. Often looked at as a reaction to the emotional excess of Abstract Expressionism, hard-edge painting is distinguished by its emphasis on geometry, symmetry, and flatness. T&G #27 is a classic example of “hard-edge painting” – an abstract style characterized by sharply defined edges, geometric forms, and an ambiguity between flatness and depth. Its bold colors, autonomous shapes, and clean-edge forms have a classical rationalism that offers a distinct alternative to the gestural and emotive fervency of Abstract Expressionism. Like the cool jazz of Miles Davis and other practitioners of the period, the painting’s rhythmic, flat forms and pulsating hues are at once elegant and syncopated.
