March 2023. Granite, galvanized and powder coated steel. Dimensions: 36 × 40 × 9 in (91 × 102 × 23 cm).

SAGITTA: Latin for arrow

Constellation: A dim but distinctive constellation in the northern sky, representing an arrow and included in the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy. It is not to be confused with the larger constellation Sagittarius.

Mythology: The constellation is associated with the arrow of Hercules, the arrow of Apollo, or the arrow of Eros (Cupid).

January 2020. Granite, galvanized and powder coated steel. Dimensions: 123 × 102 × 43 in (312 × 259 × 109 cm).

Sisyphean Circle Series

The formal arrangements of stone and steel in the Sisyphean Circle series often suggest a figure frozen in the act of prying or pushing a stone. Yet to view the creative process simply as endless toil is undeniably negative. I prefer to approach the myth and metaphor through the lens of Albert Camus.

 As in life, this perspective lies at the core of the creative process, where the act of making ultimately triumphs over the object or final product. The focus shifts from the burden of creation to the meaning found in the effort itself—celebrating the process as the true reward rather than the finished sculpture.

—John Van Alstine

September 2019. Granite, galvanized and powder-coated. Dimensions: 80 × 70 × 16 in (203 × 178 × 41 cm).

SISYPHEAN CIRCLE (Homage to Major Taylor), 2019
Granite, galvanized and powder-coated steel, 80"h x 70"w x 16"d (203 x 178 x 40 cm)

In the Sisyphean Circle series, the interplay of stone and steel suggests a figure frozen in the act of prying or pushing a stone, echoing the myth of Sisyphus and the creative struggle to overcome obstacles.

This work specifically honors Marshall “Major” Taylor (1878–1932), a world champion American cyclist and one of the nation’s first Black sports superstars. The leaning granite and circular forms evoke a cyclist in motion, symbolizing Taylor’s perseverance in the face of racial prejudice both on and off the track.

Taylor’s Sisyphean efforts made him a pioneering role model for future athletes confronting discrimination, celebrated as a hero in the United States, France, and Australia. As he wrote in his autobiography, having no other African Americans to guide him, he “had to blaze [his] own trail.”

—John Van Alstine

September 2018. River stone, aluminum, galvanized and powder coated steel. Dimensions: 113 × 75 × 30 in (287 × 191 × 76 cm).

Sisyphean Circle Series

The formal arrangements of stone and steel in the Sisyphean Circle series often suggest a figure frozen in the act of prying or pushing a stone. Yet to view the creative process simply as endless toil is undeniably negative. I prefer to approach the myth and metaphor through the lens of Albert Camus.

 As in life, this perspective lies at the core of the creative process, where the act of making ultimately triumphs over the object or final product. The focus shifts from the burden of creation to the meaning found in the effort itself—celebrating the process as the true reward rather than the finished sculpture.

—John Van Alstine

July 2018. River stone, pigmented and sealed steel. Dimensions: 161 × 61 × 32 in (409 × 155 × 81 cm).

The title playfully references Wile E., almost certainly evoking Wile E. Coyote, the Looney Tunes cartoon character known for his ceaseless and often futile pursuits—most famously trying to catch the Road Runner. While there isn’t a formal artist statement widely published online about this specific title, the invoked humor and implied struggle echo themes in Van Alstine’s broader work: energy poised in arrested motion, tension between weight and balance, and a sense of effort caught in mid-action.

July 2018. Granite, pigmented and sealed steel. Dimensions: 12 × 6 × 4 in (30 × 15 × 10 cm).

A reamer is a type of rotary cutting tool used in metalworking.

June 2018. Oil enamel on granite, galvanized and powder-coated steel. Dimensions: 146 × 60 × 36 in (371 × 152 × 91 cm).

Many of my works incorporate anvils, either real or cast. The anvil’s form, reminiscent of a boat or vessel, carries an inherent suggestion of journey—an idea that has long fascinated me. As a metalworker and “assembler,” I regard the anvil as both a physical and conceptual forge, the place where things come together and where the act of making transforms into art. For me, it holds an almost sacred presence—an altar of creation. In fact, I’ve titled a number of these works Ara, the Latin word for “altar.”

March 2018. Granite, galvanized and powder coated steel. Dimensions: 59 × 34 × 15 in (150 × 86 × 38 cm).

The “Bongo” series references the popular “bongo board” phenomena of the 50’s and 60’s, something I became quite familiar with during my early days training for alpine ski racing.

Inspired by children of the African Gold Coast skillfully balancing on a wood plank and log, WWII pilot Stanley Washburn Jr returned home to make a version for a Christmas gift to his daughter and in 1952 the first Bongo Board was born. The sculpture’s title combined with its dramatic and precarious “swivel” of elements animates the stone and steel, conjuring a figure actively and feverishly keeping balance.

March 2018. Vermont slate, galvanized and powder coated steel. Dimensions: 55 × 25 × 15 in (140 × 64 × 38 cm).

The “Bongo” series references the popular “bongo board” phenomena of the 50’s and 60’s, something I became quite familiar with during my early days training for alpine ski racing.

Inspired by children of the African Gold Coast skillfully balancing on a wood plank and log, WWII pilot Stanley Washburn Jr returned home to make a version for a Christmas gift to his daughter and in 1952 the first Bongo Board was born. The sculpture’s title combined with its dramatic and precarious “swivel” of elements animates the stone and steel, conjuring a figure actively and feverishly keeping balance.

August 2017. Granite, galvanized and powder coated steel. Dimensions: 49 × 53 × 16 in (124 × 135 × 41 cm).

Sisyphean Circle Series

The formal arrangements of stone and steel in the Sisyphean Circle series often suggest a figure frozen in the act of prying or pushing a stone. Yet to view the creative process simply as endless toil is undeniably negative. I prefer to approach the myth and metaphor through the lens of Albert Camus.

 As in life, this perspective lies at the core of the creative process, where the act of making ultimately triumphs over the object or final product. The focus shifts from the burden of creation to the meaning found in the effort itself—celebrating the process as the true reward rather than the finished sculpture.

—John Van Alstine

July 2016. Granite, galvanized and powder coated steel. Dimensions: 62 × 64 × 18 in (157 × 163 × 46 cm).

Sisyphean Circle Series

The formal arrangements of stone and steel in the Sisyphean Circle series often suggest a figure frozen in the act of prying or pushing a stone. Yet to view the creative process simply as endless toil is undeniably negative. I prefer to approach the myth and metaphor through the lens of Albert Camus.

As in life, this perspective lies at the core of the creative process, where the act of making ultimately triumphs over the object or final product. The focus shifts from the burden of creation to the meaning found in the effort itself—celebrating the process as the true reward rather than the finished sculpture.

—John Van Alstine

October 2015. Slate, galvanized and powder coated steel. Dimensions: 58 × 75 × 12 in (147 × 191 × 30 cm).

Sisyphean Circle Series

The formal arrangements of stone and steel in the Sisyphean Circle series often suggest a figure frozen in the act of prying or pushing a stone. Yet to view the creative process simply as endless toil is undeniably negative. I prefer to approach the myth and metaphor through the lens of Albert Camus.

As in life, this perspective lies at the core of the creative process, where the act of making ultimately triumphs over the object or final product. The focus shifts from the burden of creation to the meaning found in the effort itself—celebrating the process as the true reward rather than the finished sculpture.

—John Van Alstine

December 2012. Slate, pigmented and sealed steel. Dimensions: 57 × 23 × 14 in (145 × 58 × 36 cm).

A Cambré describes an arched movement of a dancer’s upper body, bending from the waist upwards; the movement can be done forwards, backwards or sideways. I use dance references in many of my works to create a conceptual framework to view and understand the heavy assemblage of earth-bound elements bringing life and meaning to its choreography.

May 2004. Enamel on steel, granite. Dimensions: 60 × 40 × 22 in (152 × 102 × 56 cm).

A Cambré describes an arched movement of a dancer’s upper body, bending from the waist upwards; the movement can be done forwards, backwards or sideways. I use dance references in many of my works to create a conceptual framework to view and understand the heavy assemblage of earth-bound elements bringing life and meaning to its choreography.

November 2000. Bronze, granite. Dimensions: 112 × 40 × 28 in (284 × 102 × 71 cm).

As its title suggests, this work was inspired and pays homage to the classical greek sculpture by Polyclitus, DORYPHORUS (Spear Bearer) c.450-440 B.C. This Greek work (below) is a quintessential example of contropposto (counterpoise), the Italian word we use to describe the “S-like” vertical line (or, to be exact, a reverse S-curve) that runs through figurative sculpture. It is this development that allowed the Greeks to convincingly convey motion or life in a non moving piece of stone.

Van Alstine's granite and bronze "Doryphorus" convincingly exhibits the reverse "S" curve. His attraction and affection for this period of classical work is precisely because of the way the ancients were able to breath life and movement into inanimate materials, a concept at the very core of his work for over 25 years.