|
…the masses seem at once like primordial “lumps”—essential, dense volumes from which all organic life springs—and cloudlike. They are simultaneously earthbound and weightless, geologic, body-like, and even ephemeral. Which association dominates seems to depend on how the masses are disposed in space, whether they lean, tilt, slouch, or are hoisted defiantly into the air. (1)
–Karen Wilkin, curator and critic
The above passage by Karen Wilkin eloquently expresses the essence of Isaac Witkin’s stone sculpture—Eolith. Soaring 14 feet up into the sky, weighing approximately 20,000 pounds and made of Blue Mountain granite, Eolith was previously on exhibit at Grounds For Sculpture in 1995 as part of the sculpture park’s Spring/Summer Exhibitions. While Witkin is principally known for his bold and formal constructivist steel pieces from the 1960’s and later for his soft-edged, organic bronze pieces, Eolith stands as an example of the artist’s first opportunity in 1994 to work with and explore stone as a sculptural medium. Garden State, a later example of Witkin’s stone sculptures—cut from massive blocks of black granite imported from Zimbabwe—was commissioned by Grounds For Sculpture in 1997. The sculpture is an impressive 19 feet tall and weighs approximately 75 tons.
Although both Eolith and Garden State are made of stone, the works are evocative of Witkin’s sculptural language more commonly expressed through his bronze works. That language is generated from Witkin’s improvised explorations of experimental foundry techniques in which molten bronze is directly poured onto a bed of sand. As the artist has stated, “Rather than beginning with a drawing, my ideas are always conceived three-dimensionally. My language is generated from the free flow of metal drawn in molten states onto beds of sand.” Examples of such bronze works include The Bathers (1991), Hawthorne Tree II (1990), and Linden Tree (1983)—all of which are exhibited outdoors at Grounds For Sculpture. (Hawthorne Tree II is reminiscent of the trees growing in South Africa, where Witkin was born and raised. Linden Tree is the artist’s first large-scale bronze reflecting Witkin's significant shift towards elongated and upright, poured and welded bronzes.) Also on view is Madame Butterfly. Through its title, Madame Butterfly is identified with Puccini’s beloved opera set in Japan. The graceful curves of the bronze echo the flowing drapes of a kimono and the triangular portion at top resembles the folds of a fan.
Witkin was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1936. At the age of 21 the sculptor moved to London where he attended St. Martin’s School of Art. It is during this time, the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, that St. Martin’s established a reputation for being the most exciting place in Britain to study sculpture. In large part this was due to the stellar faculty that Witkin encountered—one of his teachers being sculptor Sir Anthony Caro. He later served as an apprentice to British sculptor, Henry Moore. In 1965, Witkin emigrated to the United States and became an artist-in-residence at Bennington College, from 1965-79. Following, the artist lived and worked in Pemberton, NJ. Witkin passed away on April 23, 2006.
Extensively exhibited and represented in numerous collections, Witkin was most recently shown at the Rider University Art Gallery in April, 2005 and at the Locks Gallery in Philadelphia, PA in November, 2004. Selected past exhibitions include: Isaac Witkin, Major Works Since 1963, Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA; Welded Sculpture of the Twentieth Century, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY; and a solo exhibition at the Walker Hill Art Center in Seoul, Korea. Also, in 1996 Grounds For Sculpture featured Isaac Witkin in a solo exhibition, The Past Decade: Isaac Witkin—the exhibition marked the sculpture park’s first one-person show. Additionally, Witkin is featured in numerous public collections around the world—the Centre for Modern Art, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal; Fine Arts Museum, University of Sydney, Australia; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; Laumier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, MO; Tate Gallery, London, UK; and The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel.
More information on this artist can be found at www.isaacwitkin.com.
(1) Karen Wilkin, Isaac Witkin, Hudson Hills Press, New York, 1998, p. 86.
Other works by Isaac Witkin currently on view in the sculpture park:
Hawthorne Tree II, 1990
cast bronze
91" x 86" x 57"
Courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation, Inc.
Madame Butterfly, 1991
cast bronze
97 1/2" x 60 1/2" x 35"
Courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation, Inc. |
|
Eolith, 1994
Blue Mountain granite
168" x 96" x 48"
Courtesy of Public Art Foundation, Inc.
Gift of the Philip & Muriel Berman Foundation
Photo: Ricardo Barros.com
Garden State, 1997
Zimbabwe black granite
228" x 132" x 114"
Courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation, Inc.
Photo: Ricardo Barros.com
The Bathers, 1991
cast bronze
107" x 63" x 36 1/2"
Courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation, Inc.
Photo: Ricardo Barros.com
Linden Tree, 1983
cast bronze
120" x 65" x 65"
Courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation, Inc.
Photo: Ricardo Barros.com |
