Richard Serra
HITCHCOCK I, 2024
3-color oil stick and silica
34 x 48 in
86.4 x 121.9 cm
24/56
Available at VFA
The massive sculptures of Richard Serra (1938-2024) can be seen in Paris, New York, Berlin Tokyo and other cities all over the world.
Serra explored both the visual and physical relationship of his works with the viewers and the site in which they were erected.
His work sometimes inspired controversy: In 1981, Serra was commissioned by the U.S. General Services Administration's Art-in-Architecture Program to create a sculpture that was to be installed in New York City's Federal Plaza. He had already created two successful sculptures in New York through the support of the Public Art Fund.
His work for the Federal Plaza project was called Tilted Arc and was installed in the Plaza in 1981. It was 12 feet high and 120 feet long curve that was anchored at both ends and raised in the center. Many of the office workers in the Federal Building objected to the work, saying that it disrupted their daily routine. Over 1300 government employees signed a petition asking for the removal of Tilted Arc. Serra argued that the work was site-specific. “To remove the work is to destroy the work,” he said.
A public hearing was held in 1985. Artists, including Philip Glass, Keith Haring and Claes Oldenburg and art historians testified in favor of leaving the sculpture on site. Local workers asked for its removal.
A jury of 5 voted 4-1 to remove the sculpture. The government argued that the sculpture was government property. It was placed in a government storage facility in 1987 and has never been erected again.
One of Serra’s large sculptures, that has only been on exhibit once before, will be on view at Gagosian Gallery in New York. Running Arcs (For John Cage), 1992, was exhibited in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1992. It is composed of three steel segments, each one 52 feet long, 13 feet high, and 2 inches thick. Running Arcs (For John Cage) will be on view from September 12, 2025 through December 20, 2025.
Serra always carried a notebook and pen, drawing designs that often inspired, or were inspired by, his sculptures. He also drew large designs and began making prints in 1972.
His works on paper are as interesting and bold as his works with steel. Hitchcock, 2024, available at VFA, is done with 3-color oil and silica.
Oteiza, done in 2003, is a tribute to Basque sculptor Jorge Oteiza, who died in 2003 at age 94. Both Oteiza’s and Serra’s works are on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country-Artium Museoa in Spain.
Please contact us if you would like more information about the works of Richard Serra available at VFA.
