The 4 Best Howard Ben Tre Public Artworks You Can See For Free

Howard Ben Tre is one of the world’s premiere contemporary glass artists, and while his small sculptures are prized by collectors, galleries, and museums around the world, you can still find many of his best works on display for free.Ben Tre is known for his large-scale public works, as well as his unique style of hot glass casting. Unlike the major methods of glassblowing, free-blowing and mold-blowing, hot glass casting is performed by ladling molten glass directly onto a preformed mold, or cast. Thanks to his many public commissions, much of Howard Ben Tre’s most impressive work is still on display in common areas around the world. Here are four of our favorites.

1. “Immanent Circumstance,” Post Office Square Park, Boston Built in 1992, this incredible fountain is a permanent mainstay in one of Boston’s best parks. Looking something like a cross between a gazebo and a piece of pottery, the fountain spot gets packed at midday with workers seeking a lunchtime retreat.
2. “Glass Wall,” University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Although these tall panels of glass are located inside the main atrium of the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, they’re still accessible to passersby. Towering three stories high, these etched columns are sure to inspire some quiet study.
3. Warrington Town Centre, Warrington, England Across the pond, this city center in the north of England got a makeover in 2003, 10 years after an IRA bombing left the square devastated. Ben Tre’s stone and glass columns, central fountain, and raised flowerbeds have brought new life to the heart of Warrington and can still be enjoyed today.
4. “Bearing Figure,” Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence Howard Ben Tre is well represented in his home state of Rhode Island, with fountains at the Bank Boston Plaza and the Brown University campus. But this sculpture outside of the Convention Center is unique in its combination of low-expansion cast glass, bronze, gold leaf, and granite.

You don’t have to pay for museum events to see amazing art. But if you can’t get enough of Ben Tre, even after touring the world to see his public works, visit our gallery to browse our own collection of his works for sale.