Novara II — Petit
(Novara II – Small)

Richard Erdman (American, 1952—)

created 1989
Black granite, 13" x 28" x 15"
A Gift of the Stuart and Barbara Padnos Foundation
2013.68.15
Physical rights are retained by Grand Valley State University. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. Copyright laws.
Additional details and current location information

About The Artwork

Working with stone as diverse as Pakistan onyx, Persian Travertine, and Brazilian blue granite has given sculptor Richard Erdman a keen sense of his preferred medium as elemental and universal. He notes that “stone permeates life like no other material … There’s a sense of time that permeates through the stone and you just feel like you're part of a continuum … The fact that we know stone is forever allows us to relax and not be afraid of our mortality.” Erdman divides his time between rural Vermont and Carrara, Italy, where he combs the quarries for stone. Motivated by a love of the natural world, Erdman shapes his materials into abstract, organic sculptures such as Novara II — Petit.

Erdman’s oeuvre includes a wide range of sizes and shapes, including very large-scale sculptures such as the 450-ton Passage in the collection of the Donald M. Kendall Gardens at PepsiCo in Purchase, New York. Novara II — Petit represents the other end of Erdman’s size spectrum. It is a horizontal tabletop work made of black granite that resembles a Möbius strip. Graceful, twisting surfaces produce varying positive and negative spaces from different angles, in some instances resembling a reclining figure and others taking on landscape-like contours. The granite has been polished perfectly smooth with a bright surface sheen that reflects the ambient light and highlights the rock’s subtly flecked character.

 

ELLEN ADAMS
Assistant Professor, Frederik Meijer Honors College, Grand Valley State University

 

 

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