Richard Serra: NJ-2, Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure, Rotate
October 1, 2016 – April 13, 2017
Gagosian
Britannia Street
London
WC1X 9JD
Gagosian is pleased to present three recent large-scale steel sculptures by Richard Serra. NJ-2, Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure, Rotate. Richard Serra is one of the most significant artists of his generation, he has produced large-scale, site-specific sculptures for architectural, urban, and landscape settings spanning the globe, from Iceland to New Zealand.
Richard Serra: NJ-2, Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure, Rotate
Image courtesy of Art Plugged
About Richard Serra
Richard Serra (b. 1938, San Francisco) is one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th and 21st centuries, renowned for his monumental works that explore the relationship between material, space, and viewer. A pioneer of minimalism and process art, Serra’s practice is deeply rooted in industrial materials such as steel and lead, which he manipulates into forms that challenge perceptions of balance, weight, and scale.
Serra’s early career was influenced by his experience working in steel mills, which informed his understanding of materiality and labor. His practice evolved in the late 1960s with a series of lead “splash” pieces that emphasized process and the inherent properties of his chosen materials. These works laid the foundation for his larger, site-specific sculptures, which are often fabricated from rolled steel plates and engage with the surrounding architecture and landscape.
Richard Serra: NJ-2, Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure, Rotate image courtesy of Art Plugged
Key works such as Tilted Arc (1981), a 120-foot-long curved steel wall installed in New York City’s Federal Plaza, exemplify his ability to provoke public dialogue about art’s role in shared spaces. Though controversial and eventually removed, Tilted Arc remains a landmark in discussions of public art and viewer interaction.
Serra’s later works, including the Torqued Ellipses series and monumental installations like The Matter of Time (2005) at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, continue to captivate audiences with their dynamic play of form and movement. These sculptures invite viewers to navigate their towering structures, creating an immersive experience that blurs the boundaries between object and environment.
Richard Serra: NJ-2, Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure, Rotate image courtesy of Art Plugged
Serra’s work is housed in major museum collections worldwide, and his career has been honored with numerous retrospectives, including those at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Guggenheim Bilbao. His rigorous engagement with materiality, form, and perception cements his legacy as a sculptor who reshaped the landscape of contemporary art.
Richard Serra: NJ-2, Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure, Rotate opens on October 1st, 2016 until April 13th, 2017 at Gagosian
©2016 Gagosian
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