He originally graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a fine arts degree in painting, but was interested in sculpture by working with the American sculptor Michael Steiner at an Emma Lake Artists' Workshop in 1969.
[8] Bentham's first installation,[6] The Tablets, consisting of 27 pedestal-scaled sculptures displayed on identical plinths was exhibited in five western Canadian public galleries from 2016 to 2018.
[9] Installed in symmetrical rows, the collection of metal assemblages of textured bronze and brass panels infused with fractured text, numbers and dates contributed to a narrative about time.
[14] In 2015, Bentham won a national competition for Skater’s Arch, a monumental circular structure in painted steel for Rogers Place Arena, Edmonton, AB.
[15] He was commissioned to execute a large-scale wall sculpture, Nine Planes X Full Flight, in painted galvanized steel which he installed at Royal View Plaza, Calgary, AB, in 2016.