 Christopher Wilmarth (American, 1943 - 1987) Clearing for a Standing Man No. 2, 1973/1986 Etched glass and steel Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Barney A. Ebsworth, 1986
(5501.1) Influenced by the confluence of abstraction and minimalism in
American contemporary art, Christopher Wilmarth became known
for his evocative sculptures of steel and etched glass. In 1973 he
began Nine Clearings for a Standing Man. In each work of this
ambitious series he placed a large sheet of steel, bent subtly
along one or two vertical or horizontal axes, behind a piece of
lightly-etched glass of similar dimensions. Using screws and steel
wire cables, Wilmarth attached the two layers to the wall, against
which they were closely aligned (the weight of the work, however,
rests on the floor). As technologically modern as his materials are, Wilmarth
suggested that the architectural quality of his work is secondary
to the experience of light they create. Fascinated by the ability of
etched glass to catch and hold light through its color and frosted
translucency,
Wilmarth regulated the luminosity of the pieces in the series by
varying the space between the glass and steel. In this sculpture,
the steel bends slightly along a horizontal axis toward the wall,
admitting light behind the upper portion of the glass; thus
Wilmarth divided it visually into two sections, the top lighter, the
bottom darker. As the viewer moves or the illumination changes,
however, the coloristic character alters. The sculpture suggests
the poetry of light or, as Wilmarth once called it, the quality of
indirect light found under trees. |