January 1982. Granite, steel. Dimensions: 24 × 32 × 92 in (61 × 81 × 234 cm).
Private collection - Washington, DC
Torque XI is part of my tensegrity, or Brute Series, in which gravity, weight, tension, and compression become active sculptural forces. Two elongated granite forms lean in opposing directions, held in equilibrium by interlocking forged-steel bars. The weight of the stones places the steel under torque, providing the energy—or “glue”—that holds the sculpture together without welding and creates a “static energy event”—a sculpture held in arrested motion.
The long horizontal steel bars open the sculpture into the surrounding space while making the forces between the separated stones visible. Acting as lines drawn in space, they trace the tension and twisting action that bind the granite masses together. The work is deliberately self-referential—sculpture about sculpture, assemblage about assemblage—with its structure and physical forces becoming its subject.
January 1982. Granite, steel. Dimensions: 24 × 32 × 92 in (61 × 81 × 234 cm).
Private collection - Washington, DC
Torque XI is part of my tensegrity, or Brute Series, in which gravity, weight, tension, and compression become active sculptural forces. Two elongated granite forms lean in opposing directions, held in equilibrium by interlocking forged-steel bars. The weight of the stones places the steel under torque, providing the energy—or “glue”—that holds the sculpture together without welding and creates a “static energy event”—a sculpture held in arrested motion.
The long horizontal steel bars open the sculpture into the surrounding space while making the forces between the separated stones visible. Acting as lines drawn in space, they trace the tension and twisting action that bind the granite masses together. The work is deliberately self-referential—sculpture about sculpture, assemblage about assemblage—with its structure and physical forces becoming its subject.
