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January 1971. Plaster, wire. Dimensions: 36 × 20 × 20 in (91 × 51 × 51 cm). Collection of the artist.
Untitled (class exercise) was literally my first sculpture, created as a freshman at St. Lawrence University in 1971. The form was modeled in oil-based clay, surrounded by a multi-piece plaster mold, and then cast in plaster. After the mold was removed, I sanded and polished the surface with increasingly fine sandpaper, finishing it by rubbing the plaster with milk to achieve its smooth, luminous surface.
At the time, I had very little firsthand exposure to sculpture in museums or galleries, so books provided much of my introduction to modern sculpture. I was particularly influenced by the organic abstraction of Jean Arp, Constantin Brancusi, and Henry Moore, evident here in the sculpture’s rounded, biomorphic forms, flowing contours, and interplay of mass and void. Looking back, this modest student exercise marks the beginning of my exploration of abstract form, material, and the relationship between solid mass and surrounding space—concerns that would continue to evolve throughout my work.
January 1971. Plaster, wire. Dimensions: 36 × 20 × 20 in (91 × 51 × 51 cm). Collection of the artist.
Untitled (class exercise) was literally my first sculpture, created as a freshman at St. Lawrence University in 1971. The form was modeled in oil-based clay, surrounded by a multi-piece plaster mold, and then cast in plaster. After the mold was removed, I sanded and polished the surface with increasingly fine sandpaper, finishing it by rubbing the plaster with milk to achieve its smooth, luminous surface.
At the time, I had very little firsthand exposure to sculpture in museums or galleries, so books provided much of my introduction to modern sculpture. I was particularly influenced by the organic abstraction of Jean Arp, Constantin Brancusi, and Henry Moore, evident here in the sculpture’s rounded, biomorphic forms, flowing contours, and interplay of mass and void. Looking back, this modest student exercise marks the beginning of my exploration of abstract form, material, and the relationship between solid mass and surrounding space—concerns that would continue to evolve throughout my work.