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The making of sculpture may be taken as a desire for wholeness: the recognition of one’s identity as part of the earth and its materials. In the confrontation of one’s inner image with physical materials, a dialogue begins and the result is a sculptural statement. Through this dialogue an attempt is made to clarify subject and object matter. … The material I have chosen to have a working dialogue with is stone.[1]
—Bradford Graves
Two sculptures, Bamboo Night and Hung the Flesh of Living Fish I, by Bradford Graves and courtesy of the Bradford O. Graves Foundation, LLC join Grounds For Sculpture’s outdoor exhibition. Carved in limestone, the works are representative of Graves’ fascination with archeology and the earth. Bamboo Night and Hung the Flesh of Living Fish I each prompt the viewer to generate a visual interpretation—an interpretation reinforced by the titles of the works. Bamboo Night evokes the segmented stalk of the bamboo plant, whereas in Hung the Flesh of Living Fish I, the steel slab jarringly interrupts the carved limestone only to further the metaphor of the title. Whether or not these sculptures are intended to suggest such a literal visual interpretation, Graves’ works carry a deeper meaning. His sculptures propose a sense of quiet mystery and deep intellectual thought—to quote Burton Wasserman of Art Matters:
The limestone carvings of Bradford Graves are a celebration of profound perplexity and mystery. They explain themselves neither quickly nor easily. Instead, they invite deliberately paced intellectual search and spiritual speculation… Stimulating the exercise of imagination, the sculptures challenge to invent their own relevant meanings…these silent pieces of chiseled rock plumb the sublime.[2]
Graves was born in Dallas, Texas in 1939. He moved to New York City in 1958 where he studied at the School of the Visual Arts, the American School, and the New School. It was at the New School that Graves encountered sculptor Seymour Lipton—his greatest influence. During his life Graves traveled throughout the world—Greece, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Haiti, Scotland, Africa, Japan and the American Southwest—continuously nourishing his appetite for archaeology and new cultural experiences. He also served on the faculty at Parsons School of Design in New York City and Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ. Graves’ passed away on April 16, 1998.
For an extensive list of exhibitions and access to Graves’ prolific writings on sculpture please visit http://www.bradfordgraves.com/.
[1] Bradford Graves, “The Making of Sculpture,” http://www.bradfordgraves.com/writing_making.htm (6 Aug. 2006).
[2] Burton Wasserman, Art Matters, May 1996. Source: http://www.bradfordgraves.com/pres_more.html (6 Aug. 2006).
Works by Bradford Graves currently on view in the sculpture park:
Bamboo Night, 1997
limestone, 57” x 41” x 20 ½ ”
Hung the Flesh of Living Fish I, 1992
limestone, steel, 40” x 24” x 17”
Gift of the Bradford O. Graves Foundation, LLC | 
