A: Is for the Richard Serra

When one thinks of Richard Serra the word mammoth comes to mind. His usage of raw industrial materials brings out a brutality stilled by moments of awing peace. Minimalist and unconventional he accents the physical urban properties of steel. Through their mass they invade space and create environments of their own. It is proven architecture filled with internal power. I was first introduced to Serra's work at the Gagosian Galleries in Chelsea and I have sought him out ever since. Being next to a Serra you get a glimpse of God at work.

Richard Serra is present for every step of an installation since the 1970s, when a worker was crushed. It happened in Minneapolis when one of Serra's artworks toppled over on him. The new MOMA building was specifically designed for Serra's work. On April 14th of this year, the museum knocked out a series of walls on the second floor and opened up the side of the building to get some of the works indoors. The work was supervised by Joe Valardi, whose rigging company usually installs boilers and massive air-conditioning units. He's the only man Serra trusts to lift his art. "This is a piece of steel, but we treat it like glass," Valardi says. There's always a glitch, though.

Why did the MOMA knock down walls? Because Richard Serra Sculpture: Forty Years opens
June 3 and will run until September 10th. Starting with his early experiments with rubber, neon, we are lead to his monumental pieces. Three new works will have their premiere and NYC will be the first to see them. The pieces will be on view throughout the Museum and in The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, giving one an extraordinary vision of this formidable artist. Two pieces are already in the Sculpture Garden - Intersection II (1992-3) and Torqued Ellipse IV (1998) giving you a glimpse of his genius before the show officially opens.


Torqued Ellipse is a moment of grace. As the viewer you are drawn into the gentle swirls of light playing off the steel, encompassing you in moment. I recommend that you see this at sunset. In 1981 Serra was rejected by the public. He installed Tilted Arc, a gently curved, 3.5 metre high arc of rusting mild steel in the Federal Plaza in New York City. The workers in the buildings surrounding the plaza complained that the steel wall obstructed passage through the plaza. They took it to court and four years later the sculpture was dismantled by the federal workers and taken for scrap. Serra has come full circle for now he is considered one of the most preeminent sculptors of our era and that is a F.A.C.T.