January 1986. Painted granite, painted steel. Dimensions: 51 × 46 × 16 in (130 × 117 × 41 cm).
Private collection - Washington, DC
Instrument for Understanding Celestial Movement reflects my growing tendency during this period to look to the skies for inspiration. The elevated circular form and diagonal linear element suggest an imagined scientific or navigational instrument—perhaps measuring an orbit, charting a trajectory, or locating our position within a larger celestial order. These ideas were developing simultaneously in my Luna Series and in the solar and celestial concepts I was incorporating into several large-scale public works. The title deliberately suggests an “instrument,” not as something literally functional, but as a sculptural device for contemplating movement, time, space, and our relationship to the cosmos.
The work also marks a transition in my use of color and expressive surface, stimulated in part by my increasing involvement with drawing, particularly color pastels. The painted granite and steel, layered color, and richly worked, almost impasto-like surfaces introduce a more gestural and painterly vocabulary, moving away from the spare “truth to materials” aesthetic of my earlier tensegrity, or Brute Series. Here, color and texture become active elements of the sculpture, working alongside mass, line, and balance to broaden its visual and expressive possibilities.
January 1986. Painted granite, painted steel. Dimensions: 51 × 46 × 16 in (130 × 117 × 41 cm).
Private collection - Washington, DC
Instrument for Understanding Celestial Movement reflects my growing tendency during this period to look to the skies for inspiration. The elevated circular form and diagonal linear element suggest an imagined scientific or navigational instrument—perhaps measuring an orbit, charting a trajectory, or locating our position within a larger celestial order. These ideas were developing simultaneously in my Luna Series and in the solar and celestial concepts I was incorporating into several large-scale public works. The title deliberately suggests an “instrument,” not as something literally functional, but as a sculptural device for contemplating movement, time, space, and our relationship to the cosmos.
The work also marks a transition in my use of color and expressive surface, stimulated in part by my increasing involvement with drawing, particularly color pastels. The painted granite and steel, layered color, and richly worked, almost impasto-like surfaces introduce a more gestural and painterly vocabulary, moving away from the spare “truth to materials” aesthetic of my earlier tensegrity, or Brute Series. Here, color and texture become active elements of the sculpture, working alongside mass, line, and balance to broaden its visual and expressive possibilities.
