GEORGE R I C K E Y M O N U M E N T A L S C U L P T U R E S
“No one taught me to do this. I learned to do it before I was able to analyze the theory.” From George Rickey: Skulpturen, Material, Technik Amerika House, Berlin, April-June 1979
ILLUSTRATED ON THE COVER:
BREAKING COLUMN III, 1993-2001 STAINLESS STEEL, EDITION 3 OF 3 303 X 14 X 7 IN., 769.2 X 35.6 X 17.8 CM (MAX. WIDTH: 201 IN., 510.5 CM)
GEORGE RICKEY M O N U M E N TA L S C U L P T U R E S
A P R I L 1 2 - J U LY 5 , 2 0 1 8
4 0 W E ST 57 TH STR E E T | N E W YO R K | 1 0 01 9 212 541 4900 | MARLBOROUGHGALLERY.COM
“I committed myself to a completely new technology, a new esthetic, new criteria, a new kind of response from others and a new antiphony between myself and the new object I held in my hand. I had to wonder whether Calder had said it all; when I found he had not, I had to choose among the many doors I then found open.” From “The Sculpture of George Rickey: Silent Movement Performing in a World of Its Own”, ArtNews, April 1980
“Technology is not art but every art has its technology... I do not develop technology for its own sake or to cause wonder, only in response to my felt need.” From “George Rickey: Technology” Kunsthalle Bielefeld, 1976
TWO CONICAL SEGMENTS GYRATORY GYRATORY IV - SEVEN AXES, 1980 STAINLESS STEEL, UNIQUE 64 X 73 1/2 X 42 IN., 162.6 X 186.7 X 106.7 CM
TWO LINES OBLIQUE GYRATORY II, 1989 STAINLESS STEEL, EDITION 2 OF 3 HEIGHT: 341 3/4 IN., 868 CM (MAX: 384 IN., 975.4 CM WIDTH: 238 IN., 604.5 CM (MAX: 340 1/2 IN., 864.9 CM) BLADES: 180 IN., 457.2 CM
“Since the design of the movement is paramount, shape, for me, should have no significance.� From George Rickey: Skulpturen, Material, Technik Amerika House, Berlin, April-June 1979
FOUR LINES DIAGONAL JOINTED, 1988 STAINLESS STEEL, UNIQUE 168 X 48 IN., 426.7 X 121.9 CM (MAX ROTATIONAL DIM. 150 IN., 381 CM)
TEN ROTORS TEN CUBES II, 1971 (BEGUN 1959) STAINLESS STEEL, UNIQUE 132 X 47 X 26 IN., 335.3 X 119.4 X 66 CM
“In art discovery is not enough. Pioneering in a new idiom, with new material, even with a new aesthetic (or a non-aesthetic) does not make it art, it makes it pioneering.” From “The Morphology of Movement in Nature” in The Nature of Art and Motion Gyrgory Kepes, editor. New York: Braziller, 1965
TWO LINES EXCENTRIC JOINTED WITH SIX ANGLES (NON TAPERED), 1986 STAINLESS STEEL, EDITION 2 OF 3 108 X 54 IN., 274.3 X 137.2 CM
BREAKING COLUMN III, 1993-2001 STAINLESS STEEL, EDITION 3 OF 3 303 X 14 X 7 IN., 769.2 X 35.6 X 17.8 CM (MAX. WIDTH: 201 IN., 510.5 CM)
“Rickey asserted the importance of the artist’s hands-on involvement from beginning to end. He used the universal language of geometric abstraction and the industrially produced alloy of stainless steel, but he resisted the temptation to depersonalize his work, Rickey’s ‘hand’ is present in the nuances and subtleties of his work.” Valerie Fletcher From “George Rickey: Poetry in Motion,” George Rickey, Kinetic Sculpture: A Retrospective, Vero Beach Museum of Art, 2007
GEORGE RICKEY (1907 – 2002)
1907 1928 1929 1941 1942 1945 1947 1948 1995 1999 2002
Born in South Bend, Indiana, of New England heritage Ruskin School of Drawing, Oxford, England (through 1929) BA, Modern History, Balliol College, Oxford, England Académie L’hôte and Académie Moderne, Paris, France (through 1930) MA, Modern History, Balliol College, Oxford, England US Army Air Corps (through 1945) Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, New York, New York (through 1946) Studied etching under Mauricio Lasansky, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa Institute of Design, Chicago, Illinois (through 1950) Gold Medal for Sculpture, American Academy of Arts and Letters Lifetime Achievement Award, International Sculpture Center Died in Saint Paul, Minnesota on July 17th
S E L E C T E D S O LO E X H I B I T I O N S 1933 1935 1953 1955 1956 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
Caz-Delbo Gallery, New York, New York Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado Mobile Sculpture, John Herron Art Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana George Rickey: Machines Kinetic Sculptures, Mobiles, Kraushaar Galleries, New York, New York Kinetic Sculpture and Machines, Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana Kinetic Sculpture: George Rickey, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California George Rickey: Kinetic Sculpture, Kraushaar Gallery, New York, New York George Rickey: Recent Sculpture, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ George Rickey, Düsseldorf Kunsthalle, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany George Rickey: Kinetic Sculpture, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, Illinois George Rickey: Kinetic Sculptures, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts George Rickey: Sixteen Years of Kinetic Sculpture, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Recent Kinetic Sculpture, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota George Rickey Kinetic Sculpture, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN George Rickey, Haus am Waldsee, West Berlin, Germany Recent Kinetic Sculpture by George Rickey, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, Washington
1971
1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982
1984
George Rickey Retrospective Exhibition 1951-71, UCLA Art Council and UCLA Art Galleries, Los Angeles, California (traveling exhibition) 1972 Sculpture by George Rickey, Museum of Art, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa George Rickey, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannover, Germany George Rickey, Nationalgalerie, West Berlin, Germany George Rickey, Galerie Buchholz, Munich, Germany Sculpture of George Rickey, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania George Rickey, Galerie Espace NV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands George Rickey, Fordham University Plaza at Lincoln Center and Staempfli Gallery, New York, New York George Rickey. Kinetische Objekte Material und Technik, Kunsthalle der Stadt, Bielefeld, West Germany George Rickey. Kinetische Skulpturen, Städtische Galerie im Städelschen Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, West Germany George Rickey, Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, New York, New York George Rickey. Mobile Skulpturen, Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zürich, Switzerland George Rickey, Gallery Kasahara, Osaka, Japan Skulpturen Material Technik, Amerika Haus, West Berlin, Germany George Rickey: Retrospective Exhibition, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York George Rickey at Makler Gallery, Makler Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania George Rickey, Gimpel-Hanover+Andre Emmerich Galerien, Zürich, Switzerland George Rickey, Musée d’Art Contemporain, Montreal, Canada George Rickey: Kinetic Sculpture on Clydeside, Custom House Quay, St. Enoch Exhibition Centre and Carlton Place, Glasgow, Scotland, with the support of the Scottish Arts Council and Glasgow District Council; traveled to Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Yorkshire, England; and Manor House, Ilkley, England George Rickey, New Orleans Plus 30, Art Gallery, Newcomb College, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana George Rickey: 30 Years of His Art, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York, New York George Rickey, Galerie Schoeller, Düsseldorf, Germany George Rickey Kinetische Freiplastiken 1972-1984, Bauhaus-Archiv, West Berlin, Germany Zeit und Bewegung im Werk von George Rickey, Josef Albers Museum, Quadrat, Bottrop, Germany
1985
1986
1987
1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
1997
George Rickey Recent Sculptures, Inkfish Gallery, Denver, Colorado George Rickey in South Bend, Art Center of South Bend, Indiana University of South Bend, Saint Mary’s College; traveled to the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana George Rickey in Bryant Park, concurrent exhibitions at Maxwell Davidson Gallery and Zabriskie Gallery, New York, New York George Rickey, In Celebration of his Eightieth Year, Carl Schlosberg Fine Arts, Sherman Oaks, California Two Lines Excentric Jointed with Six Angles, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, West Berlin, Germany George Rickey zum 80. Geburtstag, Galerie Pels Leusden, West Berlin, Germany; traveled to Galerie Schoeller, Düsseldorf, Germany George Rickey: Projects for Public Sculpture, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York, New York 3 Skulpturen von George Rickey in Köln, Moderne Stadt, Cologne, West Germany George Rickey: Indoor/Outdoor Sculptures, Veranneman Foundation, Kruishoutem, Belgium George Rickey: Two Exhibitions, John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, California George Rickey - Important Sculpture, Marianne Friedland Gallery, Toronto, Canada In Celebration of Three Breaking Columns at Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands George Rickey, Gallery Kasahara, Osaka, Japan George Rickey: Sculptures 1955-1990, Artcurial, Paris, France George Rickey: Kinetic Sculptures, Galerie Utermann, Dortmund, Germany George Rickey: Art of Movement, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York George Rickey: In Celebration of his 85th Year, Carl Schlosberg Fine Arts, Sherman Oaks, California George Rickey in Berlin 1967-1992, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany A Dialogue in Steel and Air: George Rickey, Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, Florida George Rickey in Santa Barbara, University Art Museum, University of California at Santa Barbara, California Rickey: Sieben Kinetische Skulpturen, Galerie Utermann, and Harenberg Verlag, Dortmund, Germany George Rickey: Recent Sculpture. In grateful memory of Edie Rickey, 1924-1995—generous friend, gentle mentor, and humorous humanist, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York, New York Important Early Sculptures 1951-65: In Recognition of His 90th Year, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York, New York George Rickey: Master of Kinetic Sculpture—In Celebration of His 90th Year, Carl Schlosberg Fine Arts, Los Angeles, California
1998 1999 2000
2001 2002 2003
2004 2006
2007
2008 2009
2010 2011
George Rickey: Motion and Silence, Galerie Dr. István Schlégl, Zürich, Switzerland George Rickey, Veranneman Foundation, Kruishoutem, Belgium George Rickey: Maquettes and drawings related to Crucifera IV, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama George Rickey, Gallery Kasahara, Tokyo, Japan George Rickey: A Retrospective 1958-2000, Soma Gallery, La Jolla, California Installation of Annular Eclipse V, organized by the City of New York Parks & Recreation, Park Avenue Malls Planting Projects, New York, New York George Rickey: A Tribute, University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, California George Rickey: Defining the Fourth Dimension, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York, New York Kunstpreis Finkenwerder 2002. George Rickey, Airbus, Hamburg, Germany George Rickey. Kinetische Skulpturen, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany Kinetische Skulpturen 1956-2000, Verlag der Galerie Brockstedt, Hamburg, Germany, in conjunction with Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York, New York George Rickey: Retrospective, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York, New York George Rickey, in conjunction with the group exhibition, Momentum: Selections from the Kinetic Art Organization, Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, New Jersey George Rickey Sculptures, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York, New York George Rickey Sculpture: A Retrospective, Vero Beach Museum of Art, Vero Beach, Florida; traveled to Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas (through 2009) George Rickey: Selected Works from the George Rickey Estate, Marlborough Chelsea, New York, New York George Rickey: An Evolution, Arts Council, Cultural Development Commission and the City of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana A Life in Art: Works by George Rickey, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, Indiana Innovation: George Rickey Kinetic Sculpture, a series of exhibitions in South Bend, Indiana (through 2010): Rickey Trail, City of South Bend / The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County; Passages of Light and Time: George Rickey’s Life in Motion, The Snite Museum, The University of Notre Dame; George Rickey: Arc of Development, South Bend Museum of Art; Abstraction in the Public Sphere: New Approaches, A Symposium in Celebration of George Rickey, The Snite Museum, The University of Notre Dame George Rickey: Important Works from the Estate, Marlborough Chelsea, New York, New York George Rickey: Indoor/Outdoor, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York, New York
2012 2013 2015 2016 2017
Downtown Albany Sculpture in the Streets - George Rickey, Albany, New York (through 2012) George Rickey, Michael Haas Galerie, Berlin, Germany George Rickey: Sculpture from the Estate, Marlborough Gallery, New York, New York George Rickey: Esculturas, Galería Marlborough, Barcelona, Spain George Rickey: Selected Works from the Estate, Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY George Rickey: Sculpture from the Estate, Marlborough Fine Art, London
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Albertina Museum, Vienna, Austria Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York Am Justizzentrum, Cologne, Germany Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland Bayerische Hypotheken-und-Vechsel Bank, AG, Munich, Germany Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich, Germany Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, Massachusetts Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan Gibbs Farm, Kaipara, New Zealand Hakone Open Air Museum, Tokyo, Japan Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan Henkel GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. Hyogo Prefectural Museum, Kobe, Japan Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford, California Kansai University, Osaka, Japan Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany Kunsthalle der Stadt, Berlin, Germany Landtag Nordrhein Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, Missouri Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York Moderne Galerie (Joseph Albers Museum), Quadrat-Bottrop, Bottrop, Germany Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble, France Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana Museum of Art, Long Beach, California Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland Neu Perlach, Munich, Germany Neubau des Physikzentrums, Kiel, Germany Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York, Purchase, New York Neues Medizinsches Institut, Heidelberg, Germany New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, California Olympiad of Art, Olympic Center, Seoul, South Korea Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York Rijksmuseum Kröller Müller, Otterlo, The Netherlands Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft, Munich, Germany San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, California Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California Shizuoka Museum, Shizuoka, Japan Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Snite Museum, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana Tate Gallery, London, England Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel The Gateway Foundation, St. Louis, Missouri The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California The Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California The Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri The Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York The Sondra and Marvin Smalley Family Sculpture Garden, Bel-Air, California The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio Union Bank of Switzerland, Zürich, Switzerland Vero Beach Museum of Art, Vero Beach, Florida Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York Williams College Museum, Williamstown, Massachusetts Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, Inaugural Gift of the Class of 1961 Public Art Fund Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut
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Important Works available by: Twentieth-Century European Masters; Post-War American Artists
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GEORGE R I C K E Y M O N U M E N T A L S C U L P T U R E S A P R I L 1 2 - J U LY 5 , 2 0 1 8