Author: Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Publisher: Albright Knox Art Gallery

Published: 1979

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13:

"Eight Sculptors presents the work of a group of artists whose sculptures exemplify a diverse range of intellectual interests, formal issues, and concerns with materials and techniques. Considered as a sampler of new trends in contemporary American sculpture, this exhibition makes it apparent that no one particular style dominates; rather, it is evident that there is a new and different emphasis on a personal kind of artistic freedom. Such a stylistic diversity reflects this new freedom and, at the same time, parallels a pluralistic nature which exists in art and society today. Thus, a comparative examination of the works in this exhibition will not provide us with a sense of homogeneity but rather will emphasize the multi-faceted character of contemporary sculpture. In approaching these works, it is important to remember that they are highly individual statements which communicate physicality and presence as well as psychological and personal experiences. While diversity prevails, it is also possible to find certain similarities between a number of the works. Artists such as Deborah Butterfield, Robert Lobe and Michael Singer are drawn to nature and isolate it as a source of inspiration, imagery and materials. Ira Joel Haber's dioramas depict altered realities. In their wall reliefs, Charles Fahlen and Don Gummer present inventive and mystical forms which seem strangely emblematic or symbolic. Steve Keister's small, suspended objects have an eerie and unnatural presence. An architectural rationale is reflected in the works by Singer and Christopher Wilmarth. The materials and techniques of these eight sculptors are as varied as their imagery. Each deals, in innovative ways, with the physical characteristics and aesthetic qualities inherent in the particular materials with which each chooses to work. The range is wide - from the mud and sticks of Butterfield's horses, to the painted wooden forms of Gummer and Keister, from Haber's plastic toy houses to the fabricated wood materials which Fahlen uses, from Lobe's hammered metal sheets to Singer's long, resilient strips of wood and the majestic plates of metal and glass of Wilmarth's work. For each sculptor I have written an appreciation which precedes the illustrations of their work. These entries are meant to be informative to the viewers in their consideration of this work, much of which is new and unfamiliar. It should be stressed that these sculptures have been selected from larger bodies of work and offer simply an overview of the aesthetic concerns of these eight artists. In several cases I have made historical associations in the hope that such analogies will not be taken as strict guidelines but rather will provide a stimulation to the viewer's perception and understanding of the works. Although many of the sculptures embody a clear acknowledgment of art historical sources, they reflect new realms of artistic thought which do not totally rely on the past. More than any other art form, sculpture depends upon the viewer's active participation in a physical as well as intellectual sense; this new and diverse work will require new and diverse perceptions and will hopefully, in the end, stimulate the viewer's understanding and appreciations of contemporary sculpture." --