Richard Serra Sculpture: Forty Years Analysis

Richard Serra, born on the second of November in San Francisco, California, is a known minimal artist and sculptor, famous for using sheet metal for large scale assemblies. He studied at the University of California in Berkley and Santa Barbra, did graduate work at Yale University, then spent two years in Paris and Florence. Needless to say, he is a preeminent figure in the international art scene with work that demands direct engagement regardless of the location. His monumental sculptures challenge the way we see. For example, the Torqued Torus Inversion made of weatherproof steel in two thousand and six located in Germany. He once said in an interview with Kynaston McShine, that this particular concept is simple to understand, comparing …show more content…
In the Kynaston McShine interview, he revealed surprisingly that he does not make too many drawings for his sculptures. He said, “With sculpture, though, the way a form is articulated in terms of its curvature, its edge, its volume, how it displaces it volume or holds its volume, or unfolds or contracts, has a lot to do with the clarity of its drawing.” The birth of his sculptures usually starts by large scale drawings on handmade Hitomi paper or Belgian linen using ink, charcoal or even lithographic crayons to make technical drawings, then proceeds to the construction of a small lead model from flat plates –lead as it is very malleable and easy to rework, except in the torqued ellipses where he began with wooden models. He then goes on to consults a structural engineer who advices on how the work should be displayed giving consideration to its stability and balance. Then finally he heads to the site. His drawings are on exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of