January 1987. Granite, steel. Dimensions: 8 × 9 × 4 in (20 × 23 × 10 cm). (Destroyed by artist)
Ciscle Rounder, 1987
Ciscle Rounder was created in 1987 and exhibited in my solo exhibition at the George Ciscle Gallery in Baltimore—the title a playful reference to George Ciscle. The large perforated steel circle establishes a sense of rotation and movement, while the granite, curved steel, and diagonal elements create a dynamic interplay of weight, balance, and gesture. The work continues my interest in bringing the natural mass of stone into dialogue with the structural and spatial possibilities of steel.
The sculpture also reflects my practice of treating materials and forms as part of an evolving sculptural vocabulary. Although dismantling or recycling a work can be frowned upon by historians, artists sometimes do so for practical reasons—particularly the storage of large sculpture—or from the belief that its elements can find stronger expression in new work. I occasionally find myself in this situation, and, like several of my other sculptures, Ciscle Rounder was eventually “cannibalized,” with elements reappearing in Portals and Passages I (1988, S-88-01) and Unda (1995, S-95-01), giving parts of the original sculpture new life and meaning in later works.
January 1987. Granite, steel. Dimensions: 8 × 9 × 4 in (20 × 23 × 10 cm). (Destroyed by artist)
Ciscle Rounder, 1987
Ciscle Rounder was created in 1987 and exhibited in my solo exhibition at the George Ciscle Gallery in Baltimore—the title a playful reference to George Ciscle. The large perforated steel circle establishes a sense of rotation and movement, while the granite, curved steel, and diagonal elements create a dynamic interplay of weight, balance, and gesture. The work continues my interest in bringing the natural mass of stone into dialogue with the structural and spatial possibilities of steel.
The sculpture also reflects my practice of treating materials and forms as part of an evolving sculptural vocabulary. Although dismantling or recycling a work can be frowned upon by historians, artists sometimes do so for practical reasons—particularly the storage of large sculpture—or from the belief that its elements can find stronger expression in new work. I occasionally find myself in this situation, and, like several of my other sculptures, Ciscle Rounder was eventually “cannibalized,” with elements reappearing in Portals and Passages I (1988, S-88-01) and Unda (1995, S-95-01), giving parts of the original sculpture new life and meaning in later works.
"Portals and Passages I" 1987
"Unda" 1995
