Bronze, granite. 72 × 110 × 24 in. (183 × 279 × 61 cm). Private Collection, Virginia.
Odalisque II continues my interest in the human figure as a framework for abstraction and makes a direct reference to the long tradition of paintings and sculpture depicting the reclining female form. Like Odalisque I (1989), the work was inspired in part by Ingres’s La Grande Odalisque and its elongated, sensuous figure. Rather than describing the body literally, the arrangement of granite and bronze suggests a reclining figure through gesture, rhythm, and proportion. JOHN VAN ALSTINE SCULPTURE
The massive granite forms become surprisingly animated: one stretches horizontally while another rises and turns above it, joined by the circular bronze element and sweeping diagonal. The contrast between this implied bodily movement and the weight of the materials reflects my continuing interest in breathing life into heavy, earthbound stone and metal—using balance and arrested motion to transform mass into something figurative and alive.
Bronze, granite. 72 × 110 × 24 in. (183 × 279 × 61 cm). Private Collection, Virginia.
Odalisque II continues my interest in the human figure as a framework for abstraction and makes a direct reference to the long tradition of paintings and sculpture depicting the reclining female form. Like Odalisque I (1989), the work was inspired in part by Ingres’s La Grande Odalisque and its elongated, sensuous figure. Rather than describing the body literally, the arrangement of granite and bronze suggests a reclining figure through gesture, rhythm, and proportion. JOHN VAN ALSTINE SCULPTURE
The massive granite forms become surprisingly animated: one stretches horizontally while another rises and turns above it, joined by the circular bronze element and sweeping diagonal. The contrast between this implied bodily movement and the weight of the materials reflects my continuing interest in breathing life into heavy, earthbound stone and metal—using balance and arrested motion to transform mass into something figurative and alive.
Wells studio during fabrication - 2003
Ingres’s "La Grande Odalisque "
James Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
Wells garden
Wells Garden
Norha Haime Gallery NYC - solo exhibition 2004
