Jedd Novatt by Waddington Custot

Edited by Clare Preston

T HE T IPPING P OIN T Melissa Hamnett

Sculpture, more than any other art form, engages and confronts us directly. As it penetrates three dimensions through the disciplined and responsive medium of the plastic, we are obliged to share our space with it to move around it and through it, and to look over, under or into it. By interacting with our bodies, our senses, and our surroundings, sculpture is so intricately bound up with the way in which we live that it can inform and challenge our understanding and experience of the physical world. Jedd Novatt’s sculpture is the very essence of this philosophy, as ideas of energy, space and physics underpin his quest for essential form and balance. Most of us lack a vocabulary through which to understand these concepts and even if we could, they seem so fundamental that pausing to comprehend them, let alone interrogate them, is intimidating. Yet throughout his career, Novatt has been doing precisely this. Using mild steel, stainless steel or bronze, he draws lines and carves borders to create cubic matrices that question gravity and defy scale. His structures incise the air and engage with the natural forces around us as he strives to create an architecture through which to explore space and matter by its absence, the void. Deconstructed, dislocated and emptied, his physical frames are liberated from geometry and imbued with a latent energy that sees them teeter on the edge of a gravitational tipping point. The carving of negative space to make the invisible visible is a recurrent theme in Novatt’s work. With visual trajectories that both expand and contract, his sculptures appear to reject the natural laws of physics and yet be impossibly supported by their own design. Transposition and inversion become part of the creative process as the surrounding space—the inverse of the material— becomes the form. Far from being hollow, Novatt’s sculptures are about the dynamic activity inside the void. Here, volume and mass become so attenuated as to coincide and identify with the tensile capacity of the material, which evolves in tandem with his shaping of the space. Perhaps naturally for an artist so engaged in science and the natural world, the visualisation of metaphor is also at play with the recurrence of the word Chaos in his titles. ‘The Greeks defined chaos as the nothingness out of which the first objects of existence appeared—sky, earth and sea,’ Novatt explains. ‘This was a space supposedly so lacking in orientation and order that out of which came all that makes up our collective experience with scale and form.’ In his early work from the Chaos series, such as ‘Chaos 8’ (2005) and ‘Chaos 12’ (2004–5) [figs. 1 & 2], Novatt explores some of these structural tensions through welded assemblies of irregular

fig. 1 Jedd Novatt with Chaos 8, 2005. Studio, Provence, France, 2018

open frames that are precariously balanced on top of one another. As he continually explores whether disequilibrium is in fact the right order of things, similar contrasts appear in his monumental works— the first being ‘Chaos Vascos’ (2007–8) [fig. 3]—where more muscular silhouettes play on the inherent qualities of his materials, the strength and purity of bronze conflicting with their perpetual state of imbalance. These daring contradictions lend his sculptures a distinct frisson as electrons and particles literally appear to collide. This dynamic enquiry into the physics of carving space can be partly explained by Novatt’s background. Born in Brooklyn in 1958, he spent the first twenty-five years of his career based in New York. With studios in Tribeca, Jersey City and Soho, he considers these years the most consequential for his creative experience; a time when the impact of Abstract Expressionism was still felt in relation to the spatial explorations begun by artists such as Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning. ‘Since I was a young boy, I remember being fascinated by space and the sheer concept of that,’ he says. ‘I recall asking my father “where does space end?” and he replied, “It’s infinite.”’ Novatt knew from a young age that he wanted to make things and ‘space and making’ came together in 1977 when he began a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Liberal Arts at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville. Alongside classes in sculpture, art history and literature, he spent the first semester of his final year at the Lacoste School of the Arts, an affiliate of Sarah Lawrence College, in the Luberon region of Provence.

fig. 2 Chaos 12, 2004–5

22 | 23

fig. 3 Chaos Vascos, 2007–8 (Plate 1)

fig. 4 Julio González, Maternité, 1934. Tate, London

La Concha Bay, San Sebastián, Spain fig. 5 Jorge Oteiza, Construcción Vacía, 1957 fig. 6 Eduardo Chillida, Peine del Viento, 1976

Here, Novatt developed the fundamentals of his trade, returning after graduation to work at the school as a sculpture assistant. In addition to working in the school’s quarries on the slopes of the Luberon Massif, where he recalls carving with students in 100-degree heat, Novatt spent several months in Umbria developing his skills carving marble. This foundation in carving is critical to his practice both in the metaphysical sense of his shaping of space but also in the literal sense of his making. Novatt carves each of his linear struts in wax before casting them in bronze, or cuts them from steel bars using a cutting torch to carve each one. ‘I’m not overly interested in the technology of tools,’ he says. ‘I prefer to see my hand in a work and carving brings an unknown element, which frequently leads to something. Ultimately, however, I focus on “drawing” the form of the sculpture, which is most essential.’ This skilled side to Novatt’s practice complements his formal inventiveness and suggests associations with the work of other artists and beyond to the wider tradition and history of sculpture itself. While situating his work as part of a movement, or -ism, is fundamentally reductionist, Novatt’s practice has indications of what we might intuit as a point of contact, an empathy that identifies with tradition. For example, associations can be made through welding to the work

24 | 25

of painter / sculptors such as Julio González and Picasso, whose contribution to modern sculpture is often summarised as ‘drawing in space’ through the assembly of wrought linear elements [fig. 4]. Coincidentally, the Basque region, where Novatt has worked at Alfa Arte foundry for the last ten years, was also home to the postwar pioneering sculptors, Jorge Oteiza and Eduardo Chillida. There is an interesting kinship between the works of these two sculptors and Novatt in their exploration of formal concerns [figs. 5 & 6]. Novatt’s unfaltering commitment to exploring ideas of gravity and balance through interior and exterior space is analogous to Chillida’s—albeit unconscious—and they similarly fuse modern abstraction with traditional working techniques. This evocation of sculpture’s past is anything but overt in Novatt’s work, yet an awareness of such precedents undeniably informs our perception. On meeting with the artist at his studio near Ménerbes, one of the first things we discussed was our natural predisposition to categorise. ‘Whether it’s me as an artist or you as a curator, in essence, we are both trying to make sense of the world. I guess my practice—be it sculpture, drawing, painting or whatever—is essentially the pursuit of meaning.’ For Novatt, however, there is no ‘one meaning’. Rather sculpture is seen as a combination of passages where the finished work acts more like an exposition of process than the finite result of one. Based on this, the ideas that are generated by and contained within his work change and develop with every experience. ‘A sculpture is never the same each time we look at it,’ he says. ‘Our perspective can change depending on our mood; our intellect can alter based on our knowledge and the physical environment can evolve, all of which varies our reference points.’ These colliding, often contradictory, experiences are what remain central to Novatt’s work. Indeed, it enables him to confront and disarm our expectations of form and balance such that we can’t help but ruminate on our own existence at the time of viewing. In this way, Novatt’s sculptures (and to some extent his paintings and drawings) identify with that long philosophical enquiry into phenomenology, an approach that examines the way in which human beings perceive the world and relate to it. Novatt is interested more specifically in the phenomenology of a viewing space and once more draws on the common language of the past, referencing the impact of Suprematists, such as Kazimir Malevich, who explored the boundaries of the interior void. Akin to how Malevich’s paintings [fig. 7] employ reduced forms and movement to look beyond the void and reflect on the multiple perspectives of the plastic space of representation, so Novatt’s Chaos series can be seen as a sequence of emerging and receding metal limbs that endeavour to make concrete the moving planes of sculptural space. Working with Minimalist tropes such as the repetition of industrial-like elements, his sculptures share another objective with abstraction: that of rendering the structural principles of space. But rather than engaging with the occupancy of space in the more closed manner of artists such as Carl Andre or Donald Judd [fig. 8], Novatt’s work aims to rip space open and scrutinise it.

fig. 7 Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist Composition: White on White, 1918. Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York

fig. 8 Donald Judd, Untitled, 1980. Tate, London

To this end, Novatt has relentlessly pursued his enquiry into breaking the planes of space, reworking and refining his ideas in a bid to achieve a purity of expression. This microscopic approach might seem arbitrary to some, but it is this continual interrogation of form and space that imbues his work with an intellectual depth and corporeal presence that draws the viewer in. A decade ago, Novatt’s scrutiny of space became more assertive as his structural language developed through various mid-size works, for example ‘Chaos San Sebastián’ [fig. 9] or ‘Chaos Eibar’, and again in 2012 with pieces such as ‘Chaos Harritu’ [pl. 13] and ‘Chaos Lasai’ [pl. 15]. These sculptures were the beginning of a new direction in the artist’s ongoing exploration of a metaphysical idea. More weighty than his earlier constellations and more forceful in their aesthetic, the vertical and horizontal bars of each matrix softened to lose their cubic regularity, while the angles of their overlapping edges bent to become more obtuse. Crucially, the presence of the artist’s hand became more apparent, the gentle curves of the inner corners providing a delicate juxtaposition to the sturdier metal frames [fig. 10]. In some cases—such as ‘Chaos Eibar’—the frames even break apart to liberate the internal space, allowing the outside space to flood in [fig. 11]. 1 The result of this spatial fracturing is one of intensified dynamism as the inherent stability of his works becomes more pronounced. With this enlarged vocabulary, a profusion of monumental sculptures followed, each notably different in form. Beginning with ‘Chaos Vascos’ [pl. 1], and followed by ‘Chaos Mundaka’ (2009) [pl. 3], ‘Chaos Pamplona’ (2010) [pl. 4], ‘Chaos Nervión’ (2011) [pl. 7] and ‘Chaos Concepción’ (2012) [pl. 14], Novatt combined his signature fusion of linear and quadric forms with the added dimension of a towering

26 | 27

fig. 9 Chaos San Sebastián, 2008. La Piscine, Musée d’Art et d’Industrie André Diligent, Roubaix, France, 2008

fig. 10 Detail, Chaos 28, 2006 (Plate 42)

fig. 11 Chaos Eibar, 2008. Espacio Alfa Arte, Eibar, Spain, 2009

28 | 29

fig. 12 Pablo Picasso, Deux femmes courant sur la plage (La course), 1922. Musée Picasso, Paris

vertiginous structure. The works are undeniable feats of architectonic engineering, varying in size from 3.75 to 7.4 metres, but far from being enlargements of his mid-sized works, the scale of these sculptures is mind-blowing. 2 Not every sculptor can deliver on a large scale but Novatt adjusts his formal relationships, all too aware of how the size of a sculpture relates to both the sculpted object and the viewer. ‘Think of Picasso’s “Two Women Running on the Beach”,’ he says, illustrating his continual appraisal of art history [fig. 12]. ‘The panel painting might be diminutive in size but it is as monumental in effect as anything Picasso painted. The internal relationships are perfect.’ In 2016, when ‘Chaos Meteoro’ (2015) [pl. 22] formed part of Beyond Limits at Chatsworth (the sixth of Novatt’s monumental works to be shown at this Sotheby’s show) the internal relationships appeared similarly rigorous. Dwarfed by its height at 5.3 metres, a viewer’s presence brings scale to the work, emphasising the object’s power in relation to their body. The material solidity of the bronze, amorphous and organic, was juxtaposed with a sense of weightlessness, while the immutable object appeared in a paradoxical condition of flux, an arrested state between being and nothingness, a confluence of object and idea.

Once Novatt’s work is installed, the relationship between his sculptures and their setting (be it indoors or outdoors) becomes an integral part of their reading. While he disarms our preconceptions by emphatically stating that what stands before us is primarily an object rooted in the physical world, they are in constant dialogue with their surroundings and their power and presence can be entirely changed by the landscape or space around them. The placement of his works—particularly the large-scale ones—is therefore vital. ‘It is a continuation of the conversation,’ he explains, ‘but it is very delicate and can be challenging. Experience has shown me how exploratory it can seem but the final placement in fact feels far more inevitable.’ This is certainly true of ‘Chaos Meteoro’, now a permanent feature in the gardens at Chatsworth. The sculpture stands offset on a hill near the top of a flight of 100 steps ostensibly nestled into a circle of trees as you stand below it. From above, however, the view opens up to look down over an avenue of trees which culminates with Chatsworth’s infamous Maze [fig. 13]. The reception of the work undoubtedly shifts with the orientation and perspective of the viewer, as it does with changing light and seasons, but there is a feeling that—in addition to the material and scale—the physics of the piece comes together in this lush, theatrical landscape. Scale and setting come together again for ‘Chaos Nervión’, the largest of Novatt’s works to date. Standing at a staggering 7.4 metres, this bronze is a permanent feature in Parque de la Campa de los Ingleses [fig. 14], a park triangle in Bilbao housing Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum, Rafael Moneo’s library and César Pelli’s tower. In this builtup urban environment, ‘Nervión’ exerts a strong dramatic presence, its architectonic composition consisting of four cube-like open forms that intersect in dynamic configuration. Its formal elements, each individually tapered, create Novatt’s signature framework, which are in harmony with the surrounding lawns and architecture. The sculpture’s overhanging corners interact with the curving buildings

fig. 13â&#x20AC;&#x192;Detail, Chaos Meteoro, 2015. The Maze, Chatsworth, Derbyshire

30 | 31

fig. 14 Chaos Nervión, 2011 (Plate 7). Campa de los Ingleses, Bilbao, Spain

of the Guggenheim, while its ebony black patina provocatively contrasts with the museum’s shiny façade. Like ‘Chaos Vascos’ and ‘Chaos Pamplona’, ‘Chaos Nervión’ uses the ground plane as an element of the work, but while the base frame mirrors the ground by rooting itself on four points, the frames above are tilted and offset. 3 This emphasises the work’s dependence on the ground, reinforcing its connection with gravity, but as the viewer takes in the formal asymmetry of the vertiginous forms above with the adjacent skyscrapers, the perceived instability of the piece increases. ‘The placement of monumental works in locations with established architecture and mature gardens can be similar to completing a puzzle,’ says Novatt. ‘Despite the 50 ft-high ceilings in my foundry, the moment you put a work like “Nervión” in a city it has to contend with lots of different types of light, the open sky, the town lights, and the artificial light within the work itself at night.’ Despite these challenges, the surrounding cityscape enhances the visual energy of the work as the open composition allows the viewer to see myriad views from every vantage point. Novatt is certainly meticulous about the placement of his sculptures but once they have left his foundry, he accepts that it is almost impossible to control the evolution of their patina, given the multitude of varying environmental impacts. ‘Chaos Bizkaia’ (2012) [pl. 17] and ‘Chaos SAS’ (2013) [pl. 20] are a good illustration of this and serve as another example of how successfully Novatt’s monumental works sit in relation to iconic contemporary architecture. These two works, in bronze and stainless steel respectively, were acquired in 2013 by the Pérez Art Museum Miami, a building which inadvertently embodies Novatt’s practice as it was designed by Herzog and de Meuron to have no formal barriers between inside and outside. Both his works are a permanent outdoor feature: ‘SAS’ in front of the Museum’s main entrance and ‘Bizkaia’ in the sculpture gardens overlooking Biscayne Bay. The changing light, shade and vegetation of their setting provides an extraordinary synergy with their imposing metallic presence, but their proximity to the Atlantic will see Novatt’s preliminary patinas hastened by their exposure to the sea air. As an alloy of copper and tin, bronze patinas change more swiftly than that of stainless steel as the alloy reacts with the elements. However, Novatt is quick to remind me that changes can happen to stainless steel despite its supposed ‘stainless’ properties. Nevertheless, ‘Chaos Bizkaia’ will experience nuances of patina at a faster rate than his other outdoor works, as coastal weathering will result in accumulated verdigris of copper-rich minerals. Bronze and steel both have links with art history, not least as materials that convey beauty and power. Novatt is aware of their canonical significance and seizes on the raw qualities of the material to magnify the works’ purity, but in the end, he believes the form should transcend them and trying to control their surface is beyond our control. ‘The natural evolution of a work adds to its history and how the material evolves is part of the process.’ This approach reflects Novatt’s belief in the inevitability of things—an ethos captured by his Chaos titles—and is illustrated here by the indeterminacy of the surface finish and the constant interplay of light and shadow, nature and physicality.

32 | 33

fig. 15â&#x20AC;&#x192;Chaos Goratu, 2018 (Plate 23)

Novatt’s recent sculpture, produced over the last year, is the confluence of his spatial exploration into scale, setting and material form. Like the examples discussed previously, they further celebrate the close relationship that the artist has with his foundry in Eibar, Spain. Three large stainless-steel works, ‘Chaos Zatitu’ [pl. 32], ‘Chaos Zurrunbiloa’ [pl. 24] and ‘Chaos Goratu’ [pl. 23], are finished with such painstaking precision that there is little visual noise to detract from their focus on gravity and balance. With thicker cross members that dramatise the inherent tensions, the works’ mindbending structural principles are open to view like elegant ballets of thought made tangible. Where ‘Chaos Zatitu’ explodes into the surrounding space like the splitting of an atom, ‘Chaos Zurrunbiloa’ appears more cyclonic, drawing the viewer into a tense fusion of spatial resistance. Meanwhile, ‘Chaos Goratu’ pushes space and form to their outer limits, as it achieves an astounding feat of cantilevering out over its base frame [fig. 15]. Instead of mirroring the ground line, ‘Goratu’ is tilted so that the load-bearing burden is balanced on just three corners, the upper frame seemingly about to topple. While the siting of Novatt’s work is vital, he is not restrictive about the context in which they should be seen. Within the confines of an interior space, these robust 2.5 to 3 metre works do not look incongruous; rather their dynamic visual currents energise the spatial environment and intellectually ventilate themselves to heighten the sculptural encounter. Novatt’s new smaller works are no less powerful as the scale of each form holds the body of the viewer and surrounding environment in perfect tension. Though less than a metre high, four sculptures from the Baltic series [pls. 27–30] display compact interlocking frames with thinner cross members that complicate the receding perspective to boldly accentuate the vertical and longitudinal axes. But Novatt continues to play on divergences, the brown hues of the Cor-ten steel inviting a more intimate response to their compact mass as they engage a corporeal familiarity left by the artist’s hand. Far from undermining the works’ intellectual thrust, the viewer is invited to look beyond the frames to a complex set of rules that turn form and space completely inside out in close quarters. Subtle contrasts to the Baltic series are equally played out in Novatt’s mid-size works, ‘Chaos Construcción III’, ‘IV ’ and ‘V’ [pls. 25, 26 & 33]. In brushed stainless steel, rather than Cor-ten, these works present distinct patterns and spatial views as their different materials and making processes become apparent. With a crispness of line and edge where the cross bars join, the cuboid forms are stacked more elegantly to identify parallel or uniform contours as they open and close in space. Akin to the more complex aesthetic of Novatt’s early works, both series impart a dynamic quality that makes them just as visually thrilling as they point to an unbounded set of references beyond their material presence. Novatt works in open series, playing with and developing a rich repertoire of shapes and configurations that aim to alter and challenge our perception of the world around us. His preoccupation with volume, scale, structure, balance and energy are notions that will be present

34 | 35

in ‘proper’ sculpture in perpetuity but it requires discipline to remain unwavering in one’s enquiry and Novatt laudably makes it his life’s work. This gives his oeuvre a collective and directional thrust that reveals an artistic creativity and sculptural imagination which learns as it goes along. Full of contradictions and rich in visual surprises, his forms manifest themselves at different stages and in different ways to keep on giving. Novatt’s sculptures demand a commitment on the part of the viewer: a mental and physical collaboration such that they continually reveal themselves in all their subtlety. Not only must we constantly move around his works in a bid to try and apprehend them in full; we must accept that in the end we may struggle to reconcile what we see with what we think we know. Novatt’s work today clearly and assiduously stands apart from the mainstream of our times. Emotionally rich and intellectually rigorous, his structures stand rooted in both the history of sculpture and the physical world in such a way that they articulate something authentic about a moment in time but ultimately go beyond their frame to reflect on our presence at large. By virtue of its distancing, Novatt’s work succeeds in becoming not only more relevant in itself but more relevant to what sculpture might be, suggesting not so much the condition of sculpture, as its potential. In this sense, his work holds an important message for contemporary audiences: that presence and tangibility of form—our very awareness of being here—constitutes a more substantive relationship to the world than the condition of dislocation implicit in today’s digitally based information culture, that to know the world is not the same as experiencing it. Perhaps, like Thomas Kuhn’s tipping point where hegemonic discourse can no longer support what is asked of it, 4 the tipping point in Novatt’s work can serve as a prompt to the viewer to reassess their own assumptions and rigorously interrogate what it means to make art today.

All quotes from the artist taken from conversations with the author on 11 August 2018. 1 See Tom Flynn, ‘Jedd Novatt: Travaux à grande échelle’, Jedd Novatt (exh. cat.), Silvana Editoriale, Milan, 2008; original English text, ‘Jedd Novatt: Recent Sculpture’, published in Jedd Novatt: Chaos Mundaka, Savannah College of Art and Design, 2009. 2 Scale and size are two different things. Scale has to do with internal relationships and the relationship between existing objects and does not necessarily relate to being large or small. 3 T. Flynn. Op. cit. 4 The American philosopher Thomas Kuhn wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962 where he stated that science is faced with anomalies that cannot be encompassed by the prevailing paradigm.

36 | 37

38 | 39

44 | 45

46 | 47

48 | 49

50 | 51

54 | 55

56 | 57

60 | 61

62 | 63

64 | 65

66 | 67

70 | 71

72 | 73

74 | 75

78 | 79

80 | 81

82 | 83

84 | 85

86 | 87

88 | 89

90 | 91

92 | 93

94 | 95

96 | 97

100 | 101

104 | 105

106 | 107

108 | 109

112 | 113

114 | 115

116 | 117

120 | 121

124 | 125

126 | 127

128 | 129

130 | 131

132 | 133

138 | 139

142 | 143

144 | 145

148 | 149

152 | 153

156 | 157

CHRONOLO GY 1958–75 Jedd Novatt is born in Brooklyn, New York, on 5 March 1958, the second of four children, to Mel and Barbara Novatt. At the age of three, his family moves to Irvington, New York. I grew up outside Manhattan and as a child often went to the city because my father worked in midtown. The canyons created by the buildings and the scale in general impressed me. My parents frequently took us to concerts and museums in NYC. I recall visiting an exhibition of Color Field painting and my father discussing ‘what makes something art’. These conversations were the start of looking at art with a critical eye and being open, as my parents were, to many different forms of expression, art, music and other mediums.

fig. 1 Untitled, 1974

During Novatt’s childhood, his maternal grandparents live in Caracas, Venezuela and then San Juan, Puerto Rico. He grows up spending winters in Caracas and summers in San Juan. There he develops a fascination and passion for the sea. As a teenager, he becomes a certified Scuba diver and, during the summers, works in a dive shop on Block Island, Rhode Island (situated in the Atlantic Ocean) and dives daily at shipwrecks off the coast. He is enrolled in the Irvington public school system until the 9th grade when he attends Hackley School, a private school in Tarrytown, New York. Novatt returns to Irvington High School for the 11 th grade and graduates in 1976. During the summer of 1975, Novatt studies Oceanography at Southampton College in Southampton, New York. At sixteen years old, Novatt is introduced to stone carving and makes his first sculpture [fig. 1]. He makes weekly trips to New York City to visit galleries and museums, in particular the Museum of Modern Art where he first discovers the work of sculptors Constantin Brancusi and Alberto Giacometti. 1976–80 Novatt enrols at the University of Miami with the intention of studying Oceanography. There he takes a sculpture class and makes his first work in polyester resin and wood, ‘Blueberry Pie’ (1976) [fig. 2]. He quickly acknowledges his developing interest in sculpture, and the fine arts in general, and decides to leave the University of Miami after his freshman year. In 1977, he transfers to Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, in order to study fine art and to be close to Manhattan. There he takes courses in sculpture, literature and art history. During his first year at Sarah Lawrence, Novatt makes his first work in steel, ‘The Fourth Section’ (1977) [fig. 3], which he gifts to the College. A second steel work, the 9-ft tall ‘Cage’ (1977), is funded by the College and installed on campus [fig. 4]. fig. 2 Blueberry Pie, 1976 When I was in college, I started making works outside the studio because I felt limited by the space inside. There was a concrete pedestal on the way to the dining room that stood empty, so I thought I’d make a work for that site. I went to the

fig. 3 The Fourth Section, 1977

Dean, Barbara Kaplan, and asked for funds to buy steel so that I could make a work for the campus. The school agreed to fund my project. During the summer of 1979, Novatt travels to Provence in the South of France to work at the Lacoste School of the Arts, a school of Beaux-Arts created by the American artist Bernard Pfriem and, at the time, an affiliate of Sarah Lawrence College (and since the early 2000s part of Savannah College of Art and Design). He remains in Lacoste throughout the autumn, studying the first semester of his senior year. In the spring of 1980, Novatt participates in his first group exhibition at the Sarah Lawrence College Gallery of Art. He exhibits two welded steel sculptures, part of a series of works that includes ‘The Fourth Section’. Novatt graduates in May 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and returns to Lacoste to spend the following year working. During this period, in order to carve a large block of Carrara marble, he lives for several months in Italy, on an estate just outside the Umbrian hilltop town of Todi. 1981–89 Novatt returns to New York City in 1981 and, in exchange for studio space, he assists with bronze casting at The Sculpture Center, located in a former carriage house at 167 East 69 th Street. Throughout the early 80s, Novatt supports himself with the sale of works and construction jobs. ‘Orbit’ (1981) [fig. 5], in painted steel, is made at The Sculpture Center and is the first of Novatt’s works to enter a private collection. In my early twenties, I was fortunate to have parents who completely supported my pursuit to become an artist. They not only helped me financially but were also astute critics of my work as it progressed. fig. 4 Cage, 1977

158 | 159

In 1982, he is awarded a fellowship for a Master of Fine Arts at Columbia University School of the Arts and is provided with studio space at Prentis Hall, the fine arts building on West 125 th Street. After several weeks, Novatt decides to leave the programme and takes a studio in the Tribeca district of Manhattan at 56–58 Warren Street. My first studio on Warren Street in Tribeca was in a subbasement with 8-foot ceilings, and I was pushing the limits of my studio space where my works were literally touching the ceiling. I would work and then go up to the surface where the World Trade Center’s towers dominated the landscape, a remarkable change of scale from the sub-basement. Fortunately, Tribeca was still somewhat raw, with bars that had sawdust on their floors and 50 cent drafts. My friends and I would leave our studios and go to one that at 5 pm would put out food and we’d eat for free and drink.

fig. 5 Orbit, 1981 Sculpture Center rooftop, New York

The same year, Novatt meets Jacques and Donatella Lennon, two of his early patrons. They collect one of his first, large outdoor works, ‘Sirens of Dachau’ (1984), which is installed on their estate, the Marcel Breuer-designed Robinson House, in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The Lennons remain patrons of Novatt’s work for over twenty years. Novatt works at a temporary studio at the King Plow Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, during November and December 1984 [fig. 6]. He moves his studio to Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1987, and the following year he purchases an old farmhouse in CastelnauMontratier, in southwestern France, which he restores and maintains until 2005. Novatt begins to create large-scale, multi-media works on canvas and paper. In 1989, Novatt is introduced to Sash A. Spencer. He and his wife, Mary M. Spencer, begin collecting his work and become important patrons. 1990–93 In 1990, Novatt is selected to participate in two group exhibitions in East Hampton, New York: Collectors’ Choice of Emerging Artists at Vered Gallery and Sculptors’ Drawings at The East Hampton Center for Contemporary Art. In September, Phyllis Braff reviews Sculptors’ Drawings for The New York Times: Jedd Novatt’s bold, colored drawings combine sculptural volumes—there are rounded cutouts reminiscent of Henry Moore and massive shapes highlighted along their edges— with characteristics that seem two-dimensional. Expressive color and a dense, interlocking design of strong forms covering the entire drawing sheet give Mr. Novatt’s work the character of an abstract painting. The black and white touches bordering each component hit all sides randomly, increasing vibrancy and making shapes appear ready to burst from the surface. 1 [fig. 7]

fig. 6 Jedd Novatt, Atlanta, Georgia, 1984

fig. 7 Study, 1990

fig. 8 Rise, 1988

fig. 9 Turbine, 1992

160 | 161

fig. 10 Archscape, 1992

Novatt moves to Amagansett, New York, in 1991 and sets up a studio on Red Dirt Road. His first solo exhibition of sculpture is held at Vered Gallery. In November 1992, Novatt marries Anna Cugliari at the Town Hall in Venice, Italy. Together, they return to Manhattan and his Jersey City studio. Their son Caleb August is born the following year. Novatt’s first solo exhibition in New York City opens at Tibor de Nagy Gallery, 41 West 57th Street in October 1993. The show includes recent sculptures made from thick platesteel, cut, welded and painted. Eight works are exhibited: ‘Rise’ (1988) [fig. 8], ‘Turbine’ (1992) [fig. 9], ‘Archscape’ (1992) [fig. 10], and ‘Onend’, ‘Hardscrabble’, ‘Alltogethernow’, ‘Raven’, and ‘Tumblindown’ [fig. 11], from 1993. 1994–96 Having announced representation of Novatt the previous year, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, in New York, opens a solo exhibition of his work at the gallery at 20 East 79 th Street, in September 1994. Works on paper are exhibited at Marc de Montebello Fine Art, 9 East 84 th Street, in 1995 and in 1996, when Novatt moves his studio to Varick Street in Soho. Salander-O’Reilly Galleries presents a second exhibition of Novatt’s work in May 1996. Eight new works of painted steel are exhibited: ‘Precipice’ [fig. 12], ‘Mass’, ‘In the Forest of the Night’, ‘Indochine’, ‘Chant’, ‘Blade’, ‘Prayer’ [fig. 13] and ‘In the Thick of It’. During the mid-90s, Novatt meets, for the first time, Paris art dealers Stéphane Custot and Waring Hopkins and, in London, art dealer Harry Blain.

fig. 12 Precipice, 1996

fig. 13 Prayer, 1996

fig. 11 Tumblindown, 1993

fig. 14 Varick Street Series, 1997 Varick Street studio, Soho

1997 Novatt begins his Varick Street series [fig. 14]. These wall-mounted, welded-steel works lead to his first free-standing sculptures employing the linear cubic form in steel. In March, an exhibition of sculpture and paper collage is held at Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas. A third solo show opens at Marc de Montebello Fine Art on 23 September. The recent works on paper, collage with water-based wash, include ‘Reliquary XIII’ (1997) [fig. 15] and ‘Reliquary XVI’ (1997) [fig. 16]. The exhibition is reviewed by Grace Glueck for The New York Times: A sculptor of welded-steel assemblages, Mr. Novatt shows here a group of small black-and-white collages that seem all of a piece with his three-dimensional work. On densely painted white grounds, he lays down cut-out geometric and organic shapes of painted black paper. Some of the shapes have ragged holes or deep, comblike incisions; across and around the overall field run bars, lines and curves of various widths. He manipulates his forms skillfully; the apparently random yet disciplined organization of these abstract silhouettes creates a bouncy visual jazz. 2

fig. 15 Reliquary XIII, 1997

fig. 16 Reliquary XVI, 1997

1998 A solo exhibition of sculpture opens at Salander-O’Reilly Galleries in April. The new works in ground, welded steel include 7-ft high ‘VI’ (1998) [fig. 23] and 6-ft high ‘VII’ (1998) [fig. 18]. Novatt plays with the idea of scale using the linear cubic form [fig. 17]. Collectors Louise and Joseph Parzick commission one of Novatt’s first works in bronze, ‘X’ (1998) [fig. 19], leading to a long-term relationship with Novatt as collectors and patrons. He continues to work in bronze and creates several larger vertical works [figs. 20 & 21]. In June, three large works in welded steel are exhibited in Jedd Novatt: Sculpture at Meyerson & Nowinski, 123 South Jackson, Seattle, Washington. fig. 17 IX, 1998

162 | 163

fig. 19窶ス, 1998

fig. 18窶シII, 1998

fig. 20窶スI, 1998

fig. 21窶スIV, 1998

1999 Early works from the Chaos series, in bronze, are exhibited at Novatt’s second solo show with Meredith Long & Company, Houston, which opens on 14 October [fig. 22]. Harry Blain begins representation of Novatt in London, and his first solo show in the UK opens at Blains Fine Art, 23 Bruton Street, Mayfair, in November. The exhibition includes ten new works in bronze and steel. 2000

fig. 22 Installation view, Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas, 1999

Novatt is included in the major survey exhibition, Welded Sculpture of the Twentieth Century, held at the Neuberger Museum of Art, State University of New York, in Purchase, New York. The exhibition runs from 14 May to 27 August and is accompanied by Judy Collischan’s monograph, the first study of welded sculpture 3; Novatt’s ‘VI’ (1998) [fig. 23] is reproduced in the chapter titled ‘Millennial Metal’. From June to August, a solo exhibition of Novatt’s bronze sculpture is held in Belgium, with Galerie Vedovi, Brussels.

fig. 23 VI, 1998

164 | 165

fig. 24 Untitled, 2001

fig. 25 CI, 2000

fig. 26 CXVIII, 2000

fig. 27 CXXIV, 2000

2001 Novatt makes his first site-specific commission for an American private collector. The monumental bronze ‘Untitled’ (2001) [fig. 24] stands at around 18-ft tall. Three major solo exhibitions are held in 2001, in New York, Paris and London. In May, an exhibition of sculpture is held at SalanderO’Reilly Galleries; the show includes recent works ‘CI’ (2000) [fig. 25], ‘CXVIII’ (2000) [fig. 26] and ‘CXXIV ’ (2000) [fig. 27]. Galerie Hopkins-Custot begins representation in Paris and opens its first exhibition of Novatt’s work in September with 12-ft high ‘CXL’ (2001) installed outside the front entrance of the gallery [fig. 28]; thirty-four works are exhibited, including ‘CXXII’ (2000) [pl. 40]. In October, an exhibition of fifteen new bronze works is held at Blains Fine Art, London. 2002 Novatt and his family move to the 7 th Arrondissement in Paris, close to the Musée d’Orsay. He visits the legendary French foundry, Susse Fondeur, on the outskirts of Paris and decides to begin a large project of work there; the foundry is renowned for working in bronze using the lost-wax process.

fig. 28 CXL, 2001 Installation view, Jedd Novatt: Sculptures, Galerie Hopkins Custot, Paris, 2001

166 | 167

168 | 169

fig. 29 Susse 1, 2002–3

fig. 30 Susse 6, 2002–3

2003 Five small bronze sculptures are exhibited in Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, at Noortman, Maastricht, The Netherlands. An exhibition of three sculptures from his recent Susse series opens at Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, on 28 October; recent works, ‘Susse 1’ [fig. 29], ‘Susse 2’, and ‘Susse 6’ [fig. 30], dated 2002–3, are exhibited. Giangaleazzo Visconti, of Studio Visconti in Milan, begins representation of Novatt’s work. 2004 Works from the Susse series, including ‘Susse 3’ (2002) [pl. 41], are exhibited at Studio Visconti, Milan, from March to June. This is the first time Novatt’s work is shown in Italy. 2005 Novatt establishes a studio in the Normandy region of France and works between Paris and Normandy [fig. 31]. In December, to coincide with Art Basel Miami Beach, five large sculptures from the new Chaos series are presented by New York gallery, Chowaiki / Mosionzhnik, in Miami, Florida. The works are installed on the beach at the Ritz Carlton, South Beach. fig. 31 Jedd Novatt, Normandy studio, 2009

170 | 171

2006 In February, ‘Untitled (Chaos 13)’ (2004) [fig. 32] is loaned to Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida and installed in the sculpture garden until November 2007. Tim Jeffries of Hamiltons Gallery, London, announces representation of Novatt in the UK. His first exhibition with Hamiltons, of new works from the Chaos series, opens in May; exhibited works include bronze sculpture ‘Chaos 28’ (2006) [pl. 42]. From October to December, sculptures and works on paper from the Chaos series are exhibited in a solo show at Karl Hutter Fine Art in Los Angeles [fig. 33].

fig. 32 Untitled (Chaos 13), 2004

2007 Novatt sets up a studio and begins working at Alfa Arte foundry in Eibar, Spain, located in the mountains between San Sebastián and Bilbao. The foundry, known for working with important international sculptors, including Jorge Oteiza, has the capacity to work on a monumental scale. A second solo exhibition, Jedd Novatt Susse Chaos, is held at Hamiltons, London. 2008 Works from the new Chaos Moscow series [figs. 34 & 35] are shown at a solo show at Shkola Gallery in Moscow in the spring. A major retrospective of Novatt’s work opens at La Piscine, Musée d’Art et d’Industrie André Diligent, Roubaix, France, in June. The exhibition includes fifty-three sculptures, dating from 1988 to 2008, as well as works on paper and paintings [fig. 36].

fig. 34 Chaos Moscow 2, 2008

fig. 35 Chaos Moscow 3, 2008

fig. 33 Installation view, Jedd Novatt, Karl Hutter Fine Art, Los Angeles, 2006

fig. 36 Installation views, Jedd Novatt: Chaos, La Piscine, Musée d’Art et d’Industrie André Diligent, Roubaix, France, 2008

172 | 173

fig. 37 Chaos Vascos, 2007–8 La Piscine, Musée d’Art et d’Industrie André Diligent, Roubaix, France, 2008

fig. 38 Chaos San Sebastián, 2008 Installation view, Jedd Novatt Sculptures, Espacio Alfa Arte, 2009 174 | 175

Monumental sculpture ‘Chaos Vascos’ (2007–8) is gifted to La Piscine by a patron of the museum [fig. 37] [pl. 1]. The 12 1/2-ft high ‘Chaos Vascos’ marks a significant shift in Novatt’s work towards large-scale sculpture. In the autumn, Novatt participates for the first time in Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth. This is Sotheby’s third annual selling exhibition set in the grounds of Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. ‘Chaos Vascos’ is exhibited. ‘Untitled’ (2000), in bronze, is gifted to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio [fig. 39]. 2009

fig. 39 Untitled, 2000 Collection Cleveland Museum of Art

The exhibition, Jedd Novatt Esculturas, is held at Espacio Alfa Arte, Eibar, Spain, from June to July; works from 2008 and 2009, ‘Chaos Vascos’, ‘Chaos Mundaka’, ‘Chaos San Sebastián’ [fig. 38] and ‘Chaos Eibar’ are exhibited. ‘Chaos Mundaka’ (2009) [pl. 3] is exhibited at Chatsworth in Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth. On 8 October, ‘Chaos Mundaka’ is dedicated at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Atlanta, Georgia. Situated on the front lawn, facing Peachtree Street [fig. 40], the monumental sculpture has been donated by the benefactor Mary Spencer, in honour of her late husband, Sash A. Spencer. 2010 At the start of January, an exhibition of five sculptures opens at the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio. The works exhibited are ‘XXVII’ (1999), ‘LXXXI’ (2000), ‘Chaos Moscow 1’ (2008), ‘Chaos Moscow 2’ (2008) [fig. 34] and ‘August 1945’ (2009). The exhibit is on display until December. Eskultura eta Paisaia (Sculpture and Landscape) is organised by the City of Deba in Spain. The exhibition of ten works, situated around Deba for the months of August and September, includes ‘Chaos Vascos’, which is installed on the breakwater [fig. 41] [pl. 1]. 4 In September, ‘Chaos Pamplona’ (2010) [pl. 4] is included in Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth, and the following month is displayed in the large exhibition space of Alfa Arte foundry in Spain. In London, Westminster Council initiates its first City of Sculpture Festival, placing art work by an international group of artists in prime locations across the city, as part of a rolling arts programme leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games. 13-ft bronze sculpture ‘Chaos Mundaka’ is installed at Brown Hart Gardens, Mayfair, for six months [fig. 42].

fig. 41 Chaos Vascos, 2007–8 Deba, Spain, 2010

2011 In January, the City of Leioa, north of Bilbao, inaugurates the Parque de Pinosolo as an exhibition space for sculpture with the installation of two sculptures. ‘Chaos Vascos’ is installed and remains in situ until April 2017. fig. 42 Installation of Chaos Mundaka, 2009, at Brown Hart Gardens, Mayfair, 2010

fig. 40â&#x20AC;&#x201A;Chaos Mundaka, 2009 Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Atlanta, Georgia 176 | 177

fig. 43 Chaos AMC, 2011

Karl Hutter Fine Art, Los Angeles, holds a two-person show including Novatt, from 10 May to 31 July. ‘Chaos Madrid’ (2011) is exhibited at Espacio Alfa Arte, in Eibar, in June, and later in the year included in Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth. It is described in the exhibition catalogue as Novatt’s ‘most ambitious work to date’. Novatt is also working to produce sculptures on this scale which are, at the same time, both strong and delicate [fig. 43]. On 16 July, ‘Chaos Pamplona’ (2010) is acquired by the town of Yountville, at the heart of the Napa Valley, California. The 26-ft tall bronze sculpture is placed permanently in the centre of town [fig. 44]. A group exhibition, La Piscine à Dix Ans, opens on 21 October. The exhibition of the permanent collection of La Piscine, Musée d’Art et d’Industrie, Roubaix, features three of Novatt’s steel sculptures from 1998, recently acquired by the museum for its permanent collection: ‘IV ’, ‘VI’ [fig. 23] and ‘VII’ [fig. 18]. The show is on display until 8 January 2012. fig. 44 Chaos Pamplona, 2010 Yountville, Napa Valley, California 178 | 179

2012 Recent works in stainless steel, ‘Chaos Agosto’ (2011) [pl. 6] and ‘Chaos Caliente’ (2011) [pl. 10], are exhibited at Lever House, the landmark building designed by Gordon Bunshaft at 390 Park Avenue, New York City, in February and March [fig. 46]. In June, three monumental sculptures are exhibited at Alfa Arte, in Eibar, and on 27 July ‘Chaos Nervión’ (2011) [pl. 7], a 7.4-metre work in bronze, is unveiled in the City of Bilbao. ‘Chaos Nervión’, which was originally titled ‘Chaos Madrid’, is re-titled to celebrate its permanent move to Bilbao, through which the river Nervión flows to the sea. The permanent installation is sited in the Parque de la Campa de los Ingleses, adjacent to Frank Gehry’s Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, Rafael Moneo’s Biblioteca Universitaria de Deusto, and César Pelli’s Iberdrola Tower [fig. 45]. ‘Chaos 12’ (2004–5) is loaned to Boca Raton Museum of Art where it is on display until 2017. Five new bronze sculptures, ‘Chaos Harritu’ [pl. 13], ‘Chaos Lasai’ [pl. 15], ‘Chaos Leku’, ‘Chaos Sakon’ [pl. 18] and ‘Chaos Ibai’, are exhibited in a solo show, Chaos–Defining the Invisible, at Hamiltons Gallery in London [fig. 47].

fig. 46 Chaos Caliente and Chaos Agosto, 2011. Installation at Lever House, New York City, 2012

fig. 45 Chaos Nervión, 2011 Campa de los Ingleses, Bilbao

fig. 47 Installation views, Jedd Novatt: Chaos–Defining the Invisible, Hamiltons Gallery, London, 2012

2013 On 12 January, the 6.8-metre high, bronze sculpture ‘Chaos Ábaco’ (2012) [pl. 11] is installed at Lever House, at 53rd Street and Park Avenue [fig. 48], alongside ‘Chaos Caliente’ and ‘Chaos Agosto’. They are exhibited throughout the winter. ‘Chaos Concepción’ (2012) [pl. 14] is exhibited in the autumn as part of Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth. From 23 September, Galerie Diane de Polignac, Paris, exhibits limited edition objects created by the artist for the gallery. The accompanying catalogue includes an interview between Novatt and the collector Stephan Wrobel. The exhibition is featured in Emma Crichton-Miller’s article ‘Fine artist-led furniture’ in the Financial Times. 5 Two monumental sculptures, ‘Chaos Bizkaia’ (2012) [pl. 17] in bronze and ‘Chaos SAS’ (2013) [fig. 49] [pl. 20] in stainless steel are acquired by the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Florida. The museum produces a video of the installation of ‘Chaos SAS’ in October, during the construction of the new Herzog & de Meurondesigned museum in downtown Miami. The two works are permanently installed in the waterfront sculpture garden, overlooking Biscayne Bay, and in front of the entrance to the museum. The new museum opens on 4 December. fig. 48 Installation of Chaos Ábaco, 2012, at Lever House, New York City, 2013 180 | 181

fig. 49 Chaos SAS, 2013 Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)

2014 Novatt’s work ‘Chaos Fisura’ (2013) is included in Flux: Collective Exhibition, at Art Plural Gallery, Singapore, which opens on 17 January. The exhibition coincides with the publication of Art Plural: Voices of Contemporary Art, curated by Frédéric de Senarclens, with texts by art critic Michael Peppiatt and interviews by Jane A Peterson 6; ‘Chaos Mundaka’, ‘Chaos Pamplona’, ‘Chaos Ibai’ (2012), ‘Chaos Harritu’ (2012), ‘Chaos Construcción’ (2011–13) [pl. 8] and ‘Chaos Construcción II’ (2012) [pl. 12] are reproduced. In November, Jedd Novatt: Solo Exhibition is held at Art Plural Gallery. It is the first solo exhibition of his work in South East Asia and includes two large sculptures, smaller scale works and monotypes [fig. 51]. The exhibition is featured on the BBC website culture page and Novatt is interviewed by Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop for Blouin ARTINFO. Novatt meets Ronald Marks, who becomes a patron and collector of his work. 2015 ‘No Theory for Chaos–Jedd Novatt Challenges the Laws of Physics’, a review of Novatt’s solo exhibition at Art Plural Gallery, is published in the January issue of Art Republik magazine in Singapore. ‘Chaos Getaria’ (2014) [pl. 21] is permanently installed on the main quad of the Adrian campus of Siena Heights University, Michigan, in front of the Francoeur Theater, Performing Arts Center [fig. 50]. In July, Novatt creates a series of monotypes, titled ‘Chaos Santa Monica’, at Josephine Press in Santa Monica, California [figs. 52 & 53]. Novatt continues to work on various series of works on paper and large-scale paintings. fig. 50 Chaos Getaria, 2014 Siena Heights University, Adrian, Michigan

fig. 51â&#x20AC;&#x192;Installation views, Jedd Novatt: Solo Exhibition, Art Plural Gallery, Singapore, 2014 182 | 183

fig. 52 Chaos Santa Monica V, 2015

fig. 53 Chaos Santa Monica X, 2015

Monumental bronze ‘Chaos Redux’ (2005) is gifted to the El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, Texas, and is installed in the Patricia and Jonathan Rogers Grand Lobby [fig. 54]. The new installation is commemorated on 10 September. It is the first acquisition of Novatt’s work by a Texas institution. ‘Chaos Xaxis’ (2012) [pl. 19] is gifted to Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, Vermont. The sculpture is for permanent installation on the southeast lawn of the Axinn Center for Literary and Cultural Studies at Starr Library [fig. 55]. The bronze sculpture is unveiled on 17 September and joins a number of other works in the Museum’s collection of outdoor sculpture by artists such as Tony Smith and George Rickey. In conjunction, the steel sculpture ‘II’ (1998) is on temporary exhibition at the Museum. In November, the Chatsworth House Trust acquires Novatt’s monumental sculpture ‘Chaos Meteoro’ (2015) [pl. 22], for their permanent collection on the estate in Derbyshire. The work is installed at the top of the Hundred Steps above the Maze and joins works by artists such as Richard Long, Barry Flanagan, David Nash, Damien Hirst and William Turnbull. Custot Gallery Dubai announces representation of Novatt.

fig. 54 Chaos Redux, 2005 Installation view, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, Texas

2016 In March, two bronze sculptures ‘Chaos Fisura’ (2013) and ‘Chaos Frenético’ (2014) [pl. 16] are included in The World Meets Here, the inaugural exhibition of Custot Gallery Dubai, located in the Alserkal Avenue district. ‘Jedd Novatt: de la fragilité de nos existences, sculpter l’incertitude’ (On the Fragility of our Existence: Sculpting the Uncertainty), by Bénédicte Gimonnet, is published in the May issue of Madame Magazine (Dubai). In the spring, Novatt produces his Chaos L A monotype series at Josephine Press, Santa Monica [figs. 57 & 58]. In December, he will return to Josephine Press to create the Chaos Pacific monotypes, to be exhibited in 2017. From September to the end of October, ‘Chaos Meteoro’ is included in Sotheby’s Beyond Limits at Chatsworth. This marks the sixth year of Novatt’s participation in this prestigious exhibition.

fig. 55 Chaos Xaxis, 2012 Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, Vermont

2017 Novatt moves his studio to the Luberon region of southeast France, near Ménerbes. ‘Chaos Frenético’ is included in the group exhibition Black, White…, which opens at Custot Gallery Dubai on 13 March. Chaos Pacific, an exhibition of recent monotypes, opens at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Museum of Art at the end of March [fig. 59]. In conjunction, on 28 April, SCAD Museum of Art unveils ‘Chaos Concepción’ (2012), a new acquisition, installed permanently in front of the museum entrance in the Alex Townsend Memorial Courtyard [fig. 60]. Jedd Novatt: Chaos Los Angeles opens at Galerie Faider, Brussels, on 8 September [fig. 56]. The exhibition of monotypes is shown alongside two sculptures, ‘Chaos 12’ (2004–5) and ‘Chaos San Sebastián’ (2008), and accompanied by the publication of Jedd Novatt–Conversation avec Roger-Pierre Turine (Editions Tandem). The exhibition is reviewed by Danièle Gillemon for MAD, the culture supplement of Belgian newspaper, Le Soir. 7

fig. 57 Chaos L A X, 2016

fig. 56 Installation view, Jedd Novatt: Chaos Los Angeles, Galerie Faider, Brussels, 2017

fig. 58 Chaos L A XXIV, 2016

fig. 59 Installation view, Chaos Pacific, SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia, 2017

184 | 185

fig. 60 Chaos Concepción, 2012 SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia

At Castle Fine Arts Foundry in Liverpool, UK, Novatt begins work on ‘Chaos DCC’, a large-scale sculpture project in Cor-ten steel. This will be his first monumental sculpture to be created in Cor-ten. 2018 Waddington Custot, London, announces representation of Jedd Novatt. Working in the Liverpool foundry, Novatt creates his Baltic series of Cor-ten works, titled after the Baltic triangle in Liverpool. In May, Waddington Custot exhibits the Baltic series, alongside paintings and works on paper by Peter Halley, at Frieze New York [fig. 61]. An article in online magazine The Culture Trip (18 May) highlights Novatt as the ‘artist to watch after Frieze New York’. Novatt is interviewed at Alfa Arte foundry by Veronica Simpson for Studio International. He is working on a number of new sculptures in stainless steel and Cor-ten for his first solo show with Waddington Custot in November. In London, Novatt creates a new series of large-scale monotypes (6 × 4 ft) with master printer, Peter Kosowicz of Thumbprint Editions. The South London series [pls. 34–39] will be exhibited alongside Novatt’s sculpture in his forthcoming exhibition at Waddington Custot. The city of Rolle, Switzerland, acquires monumental Cor-ten steel sculpture ‘Chaos DDC’ (2018). It stands at over 5 metres tall and will be permanently installed in May 2019 in the Jardin Anglais, near the Château de Rolle, facing Lake Geneva, to mark the 700-year anniversary of Rolle.

1 Phyllis Braff, ‘Sculptors’ Drawings Produce a Special Dynamic’, The New York Times, 9 September 1990. 2 Grace Glueck, ‘Art Guide’, The New York Times, 3 & 31 October 1997. 3 Welded Sculpture of the Twentieth Century, Judy Collischan, Hudson Hills Press in association with the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York, 2000 (see p.[118]). 4 Eskultura eta Paisaia (exh. cat.), Deba, Spain, 2010; preface by Jesús Goitokia. 5 ‘Fine artist-led furniture’, Emma Crichton-Miller, Financial Times: How to Spend It, 21 February 2014 [https://howtospendit.ft.com/house-garden/48403-fine-artist-led-furniture]. 6 Art Plural: Voices of Contemporary Art, Michael Peppiatt and Jane A. Peterson, Gatehouse Publishing, Singapore and London, 2014. 7 ‘Jedd Novatt, le chaos au carré’, Danièle Gillemon, MAD (Le Soir), Brussels, 13 September 2017, pp. 32–33.

186 | 187

fig. 61â&#x20AC;&#x192;Installation view, Jedd Novatt and Peter Halley, Waddington Custot, Frieze New York, 2018

PL AT ES 1 Chaos Vascos 2007–8 bronze, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 148 7/8 × 102 3/8 × 94 1/2 in / 378 × 260 × 240 cm Deba, Spain, 2010 Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK, 2008

2 Chaos Susse 22 2007 bronze 19 3/4 × 15 × 15 in / 50 × 38 × 38 cm

3 Chaos Mundaka 2009 bronze, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 160 5/8 × 102 3/8 × 102 3/8 in / 408 × 260 × 260 cm Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK, 2009

4 Chaos Pamplona 2010 bronze, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 252 × 153 1/2 × 126 in / 640 × 390 × 320 cm Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK, 2010

5 Chaos Toledo 2011 bronze, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 124 × 59 × 55 1/8 in / 315 × 150 × 140 cm

6 Chaos Agosto 2011 brushed stainless steel, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 92 1/2 × 51 1/4 × 51 1/4 in / 235 × 130 × 130 cm

7 Chaos Nervión 2011 bronze, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 291 3/8 × 145 5/8 × 137 3/4 in / 740 × 370 × 350 cm Campa de los Ingleses, Bilbao, Spain

8 Chaos Construcción 2011–13 bronze 54 3/8 × 42 1/2 × 35 1/2 in / 138 × 108 × 90 cm

9 Chaos Torre 2011 brushed stainless steel 31 1/2 × 13 3/4 × 16 1/2 in / 80 × 35 × 42 cm

10 Chaos Caliente 2011 brushed stainless steel, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 97 5/8 × 51 1/4 × 55 1/8 in / 248 × 130 × 140 cm

11 Chaos Ábaco 2012 bronze 256 × 145 5/8 × 145 5/8 in / 650 × 370 × 370 cm Lever House, New York City, 2013

12 Chaos Construcción II 2012 bronze 56 3/4 × 55 1/8 × 30 3/8 in / 144 × 140 × 77 cm

13 Chaos Harritu 2012 bronze, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 52 × 35 × 35 in / 132 × 89 × 89 cm

14 Chaos Concepción 2012 brushed stainless steel, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 141 3/4 × 63 × 63 in / 360 × 160 × 160 cm Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK, 2013

15 Chaos Lasai 2012 bronze, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 39 3/4 × 25 1/4 × 29 1/2 in / 101 × 64 × 75 cm

16 Chaos Frenético 2014 bronze, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 72 7/8 × 51 1/4 × 43 3/8 in / 185 × 130 × 110 cm

22 Chaos Meteoro 2015 bronze, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 208 1/2 × 161 1/2 × 106 3/8 in / 530 × 410 × 270 cm Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK

23 Chaos Goratu 2018 brushed stainless steel 88 5/8 × 80 3/4 × 86 5/8 in / 225 × 205 × 220 cm

17 Chaos Bizkaia 2012 bronze 220 1/2 × 118 1/8 × 114 1/8 in / 560 × 300 × 290 cm Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami

24 Chaos Zurrunbiloa 2018 brushed stainless steel 108 3/4 × 84 5/8 × 98 1/2 in / 276 × 215 × 250 cm

18 Chaos Sakon 2012 bronze, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 40 1/8 × 39 3/8 × 39 3/8 in / 102 × 100 × 100 cm

25 Chaos Construcción III 2018 brushed stainless steel 57 1/2 × 31 1/2 × 52 in / 146 × 80 × 132 cm

19 Chaos Xaxis 2012 bronze 168 × 156 × 156 in / 427 × 396 × 396 cm Middlebury College Museum of Art, Vermont

26 Chaos Construcción IV 2018 brushed stainless steel 54 × 41 3/8 × 40 1/4 in / 137 × 105 × 102 cm

20 Chaos SAS 2013 brushed stainless steel 173 1/4 × 165 3/8 × 104 3/8 in / 440 × 420 × 265 cm Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami

21 Chaos Getaria 2014 brushed stainless steel, edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs 228 × 110 1/4 × 106 3/8 in / 579 × 280 × 270 cm Siena Heights University, Adrian, Michigan

190 | 191

27 Baltic 1 2018 Cor-ten steel 33 × 24 × 23 in / 84 × 61 × 58 cm

28 Baltic 2 2018 Cor-ten steel 22 × 17 × 17 in / 56 × 43 × 43 cm

29 Baltic 3 2018 Cor-ten steel 34 × 17 × 17 in / 86 × 43 × 43 cm

36 South London III 2018 woodblock monoprint, ink on paper 78 × 51 5/8 in / 198 × 131 cm

30 Baltic 4 2018 Cor-ten steel 34 × 34 × 23 in / 86 × 86 × 58 cm

37 South London IV 2018 woodblock monoprint, ink on paper 51 5/8 × 78 in / 131 × 198 cm

31 Chaos Espiral 2018 brushed stainless steel 51 5/8 × 35 1/2 × 39 3/8 in / 131 × 90 × 100 cm

38 South London V 2018 woodblock monoprint, ink on paper 78 × 51 5/8 in / 198 × 131 cm

32 Chaos Zatitu 2018 brushed stainless steel 104 3/8 × 86 5/8 × 106 3/8 in / 265 × 220 × 270 cm

39 South London VI 2018 woodblock monoprint, ink on paper 51 5/8 × 78 in / 131 × 198 cm

33 Chaos Construcción V 2018 brushed stainless steel 30 × 20 7/8 × 16 5/8 in / 76 × 53 × 42 cm

40 CXXII 2000 bronze 50 × 55 7/8 × 40 1/4 in / 127 × 142 × 102 cm

34 South London I 2018 woodblock monoprint, ink on paper 78 × 51 5/8 in / 198 × 131 cm

41 Susse 3 2002 bronze 87 × 44 1/8 × 27 1/2 in / 221 × 112 × 70 cm

35 South London II 2018 woodblock monoprint, ink on paper 51 5/8 × 78 in / 131 × 198 cm

42 Chaos 28 2006 bronze 32 3/4 × 18 1/2 × 17 in / 83 × 47 × 43 cm

Unless otherwise indicated, works are unique

S OLO E X HIBI T I ONS 1991

Sculptures by Jedd Novatt, Vered Gallery, East Hampton, New York

1993

Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, 7–31 October

1994

Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, 8 September–1 October

1995

Jedd Novatt: Works on Paper, Marc de Montebello Fine Art, New York, 25 May–24 June

1996

Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, 1 May– 1 June Jedd Novatt: Works on Paper, Marc de Montebello Fine Art, New York, 16 May–15 June

1997

Jedd Novatt: Sculpture and Paper Constructions, Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas, 6–29 March Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, CS Schulte Galleries, Millburn, New Jersey, September Jedd Novatt: Works on Paper, Marc de Montebello Fine Art, New York, 23 September–1 November

1998

Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, 7–25 April Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, Meyerson & Nowinski Art Associates, Seattle, Washington, 2–28 June

1999

Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas, 14 October–13 November Jedd Novatt, Blains Fine Art, London, 10 November–4 December

2000

Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, Galerie Vedovi, Brussels, 7 June–30 August

2001

Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, 3–26 May Jedd Novatt: Sculptures, Galerie Hopkins-Custot, Paris, 5 October– 30 November Jedd Novatt: New Sculpture, Blains Fine Art, London, 10 October– 3 November

2003

Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, Noortman, Maastricht, The Netherlands, October–November Jedd Novatt: Susse Series–Sculpture, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, 28 October–29 November

2004

Jedd Novatt: Susse Series, Studio Giangaleazzo Visconti, Milan, 12 March–18 June

2005

Jedd Novatt: Monumental Works–Chaos Series, Chowaiki / Mosionzhnik Gallery, Miami, 1–3 December

192 | 193

2006

Jedd Novatt–Chaos, Hamiltons, London, 31 May–23 June Jedd Novatt, Karl Hutter Fine Art, Los Angeles, 21 October– 16 December

2007

Jedd Novatt–Susse Chaos, Hamiltons, London, 12 December– 12 January 2008

2008

Jedd Novatt, Shkola Gallery, Moscow, May Jedd Novatt: Chaos, La Piscine, Musée d’Art et d’Industrie André Diligent, Roubaix, France, 21 June–21 September

2009

Jedd Novatt Esculturas, Espacio Alfa Arte, Eibar, Spain, 18 June– 24 July

2010

Jedd Novatt: Chaos, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, 1 January–31 December Chaos Mundaka, Brown Hart Gardens, Westminster City of Sculpture Festival, London, from September Jedd Novatt: Chaos Pamplona, Alfa Arte, Eibar, Spain, 8 October– 7 November

2011

Jedd Novatt–Chaos, Espacio Alfa Arte, Eibar, Spain, June

2012

Jedd Novatt: Chaos Caliente & Chaos Agosto, Lever House, New York, 21 February–30 March Jedd Novatt: Chaos–Defining the Invisible, Hamiltons, London, 3 October–3 November

2013

Jedd Novatt: Chaos Ábaco, Chaos Caliente & Chaos Agosto, Lever House, New York, 13 January–12 April Jedd Novatt: Sculpture and Objects, Galerie Diane de Polignac, Paris, 23 September–20 December

2014

Jedd Novatt: Solo Exhibition, Art Plural Gallery, Singapore, 4 November–4 December

2015

Jedd Novatt: Chaos II, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, Vermont, from September

2017

Jedd Novatt: Chaos Pacific, SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia, 27 March–23 July Jedd Novatt: Chaos Los Angeles, Galerie Faider, Brussels, 7 September–4 November

2018

Jedd Novatt: Conversations with Gravity, Waddington Custot, London, 20 November–30 January 2019

GR OUP E X HIBI T I ONS 1980

Group Exhibition, Sarah Lawrence College Gallery of Art, Bronxville, New York

1990

Sculptors’ Drawings, East Hampton Center for Contemporary Art, East Hampton, New York Collectors’ Choice of Emerging Artists, Vered Gallery, East Hampton, New York Jersey City Sculptural Invitational, Jersey City, New Jersey

1991

Winter Invitational, Vered Gallery, East Hampton, New York

1992

Forum Gallery, New York

1993

Abstracted Reality, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York Works on Paper, Vered Gallery, East Hampton, New York Winter Invitational, Vered Gallery, East Hampton, New York Nielsen Gallery, Boston

1995

Group Show, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York Sculpture: Rand Hardy, Jedd Novatt, Lee Tribe, Isaac Witkin, Marc de Montebello Fine Art, New York Group Show, Marc de Montebello Fine Art, New York Milton Avery, Wolf Kahn, Jedd Novatt, Vered Gallery, East Hampton, New York

1996

Selected Sculpture, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York

1997

Marking Time, Marc de Montebello Fine Art, New York

1998

Anniversary Exhibition, CS Schulte Galleries, Millburn, New Jersey Works on Paper by 20th Century Artists, Blains Fine Art, London Eighth Annual Warehouse Show, Flanders Contemporary Art, Minneapolis Abstraction II, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York Sculpture Selections from the Renaissance to the Present, SalanderO’Reilly Galleries, New York Sculptors Draw, Rosenberg & Kaufman Fine Art, New York

1999

The Power of Drawing, Westbeth Gallery, New York Inventory Showcase, Grant-Selwyn Galleries, New York

2000

Welded Sculpture of the Twentieth Century, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York

2001

Black & White, Blains Fine Art, London Group Show, Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas Painting and Sculpture, CS Schulte Galleries, Millburn, New Jersey Contemporary 2000, London

2005

Galleria Benucci, Rome L’Art contemporain dans le 8e arrondissement, Mairie du 8e, Paris

194 | 195

2006

Chowaiki / Mosionzhnik Gallery, Moscow Sculpture, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York

2007

Shkola Gallery, Moscow

2008

Something for Everyone, Hamiltons, London Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth, Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK Significant Form: The Persistence of Abstraction, Maly Manege Museum, Moscow

2009

Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth, Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK

2010

Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth, Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK Eskultura eta Paisaia, Deba, Spain

2011

Thierry Alet & Jedd Novatt, Karl Hutter Fine Art, Beverly Hills, California Jedd Novatt and Jesús Lizaso, Parque de Pinosolo, Leioa, Spain Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth, Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK La Piscine à Dix Ans, La Piscine, Musée d’Art et d’Industrie André Diligent, Roubaix, France

2013

Dan Christensen: Paintings & Jedd Novatt: Sculpture, Sponder Gallery, Miami, 1 September–8 November Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth, Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK

2014

Flux: Collective Exhibition, Art Plural Gallery, Singapore Beyond the Limited Life of Painting: Prints and Multiples from the Holding Capital Group Collection, Pérez Art Museum Miami, (PAMM), Miami

2015

Perspectives: A Group Exhibition, Art Plural Gallery, Singapore From Earth and Metal: Contemporary Sculpture, Art Plural Gallery, Singapore Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, New Jersey

2016

The World Meets Here, Custot Gallery Dubai, Dubai Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth, Chatsworth, Derbyshire, UK

2017

Black, White…, Custot Gallery Dubai, Dubai

C OLLE C T I ONS Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida Chatsworth House Trust, Derbyshire, UK City of Bilbao, Spain City of Rolle, Switzerland City of Yountville, Napa Valley, California Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, Texas Holding Capital Group, New York Melville Industrial Associates, Melville, New York Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, Vermont MIT List Visual Arts Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts Oklahoma Heritage Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Palmer Museum of Art of the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania Parco de’ Medici, Rome Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Florida Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York La Piscine, Musée d’Art et d’Industrie André Diligent, Roubaix, France Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey Renaissance Technologies, New York Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, Georgia SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia Siena Heights University, Adrian, Michigan Tisch Gallery, Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford, Massachusetts The University Gallery, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts University of the Pacific, Stockton, California

196 | 197

B IBLIO GR APH Y Jedd Novatt: Sculpture (exh. cat.), Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, 1993; introduction by Tom Evans Jedd Novatt: Sculpture (exh. cat.), Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, 1994; foreword by Lawrence B. Salander Jedd Novatt: Sculpture (exh. cat.), Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, 1996; essay by Floyd Skloot, ‘Poised Between Mystery and Meaning: The Sculpture of Jedd Novatt’ Jedd Novatt: Works on Paper (exh. cat.), Marc de Montebello Fine Art, New York, 1997; text by Tom Evans Jedd Novatt: Sculpture (exh. cat.), Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, 1998; essays by Cynthia Nadelman, ‘Eccentric Geometry: Jedd Novatt’s Representations of Abstraction’, and Shayne O’Neil, ‘The Art of the Frame: The Sculpture of Jedd Novatt’ Jedd Novatt (exh. cat.), Blains Fine Art, London, 1999; foreword by Tom Flynn Jedd Novatt: New Sculpture (exh. cat.), Blains Fine Art, London, 2001; essay by Tom Flynn, ‘Order and Complexity: New Sculpture by Jedd Novatt’ Jedd Novatt: Sculpture (exh. cat.), Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, 2001; essay by Andrew Butterfield, ‘The Art of the Fugue: Recent Sculptures by Jedd Novatt’ Jedd Novatt: Sculptures (exh. cat.), Galerie Hopkins-Custot, Paris, 2001; essay by Henri-François Debailleux, ‘Promenons-nous dans les cubes’ (Let’s take a walk through cubes) Jedd Novatt (exh. cat.), Studio Giangaleazzo Visconti, Milan, 2004; essay by Rachele Ferrario, ‘Jedd Novatt. Scultura come Architettura’ (Jedd Novatt–Sculpture as Architecture) Chaos: Jedd Novatt (exh. cat.), Hamiltons, London, 2006; interview by Janine di Giovanni, ‘A Conversation with Jedd Novatt’ Jedd Novatt: Susse Chaos (exh. cat.), Hamiltons, London, 2007; preface by Tom Flynn Jedd Novatt (exh. cat.), Silvana Editoriale, Milan, 2008; essays by Bruno Gaudichon, ‘« Un coup de dés jamais n’abolira le Hasard »’ (“A throw of dice never will abolish chance”), Tom Flynn, ‘Jedd Novatt: Travaux à grande échelle’ (large-scale works), and Valère Bertrand, ‘Glimpses of light (être présent à soi-même)’ (to be present to oneself) Jedd Novatt: Chaos Mundaka, Savannah College of Art and Design, 2009; foreword by Barry M. Buxton and essay by Tom Flynn, ‘Jedd Novatt: Recent Sculpture’

Jedd Novatt: Chaos–Defining the Invisible (exh. cat.), Hamiltons, London, 2012; essay by Patxi Lanceros, ‘Through… The Cosmo(a)gony and Crisis of Jedd Novatt’ Jedd Novatt (exh. cat.), Galerie Diane de Polignac, Paris, 2013; preface by Khalil de Chazournes and interview by Stephan Wrobel, ‘Four Questions’ Jedd Novatt: Solo Exhibition (online exh. cat.), Art Plural Gallery, Singapore, 2014; introduction by Jane A. Peterson Jedd Novatt: Conversation avec Roger-Pierre Turine, Galerie Faider, Brussels–Éditions Tandem, Gerpinnes, Belgium, 2017

198 | 199

INDE X OF WORKS

IV (1998), 178 VI (1998), 162, 164, 164, 178 VII (1998), 162, 163, 178 IX (1998), 162, 162 X (1998), 162, 163 XI (1998), 162, 163 XIV (1998), 162, 163 XXVII (1999), 175 LXXXI (2000), 175 CI (2000), 165, 165 CXV (2001), 38 CXVIII (2000), 165, 165 CXXII (2000), 165, 166–67 CXXIV (2000), 165, 165 CXL (2001), 165, 165 Archscape (1992), 160, 161 August 1945 (2009), 175 Baltic 1 (2018), 34, 126, 127, 186 Baltic 2 (2018), 34, 128, 129, 186 Baltic 3 (2018), 34, 130, 131, 186 Baltic 4 (2018), 34, 133, 186 Blueberry Pie (1976), 157, 157 Cage (1977), 157, 158 Chaos 7 (2005), 39 Chaos 8 (2005), 20, 21 Chaos 12 (2004–5), 21, 22, 179, 184 Chaos 28 (2006), 28, 170, 171 Chaos 34 (2006), 38 Chaos Ábaco (2012), 78, 81, 82, 83, 180, 180 Chaos Agosto (2011), 62, 63, 179, 179, 180 Chaos AMC (2011), 178 Chaos Bizkaia (2012), 32, 43, 92, 93, 95, 180 Chaos Caliente (2011), 75, 76–77, 78, 179, 179, 180 Chaos Concepción (2012), 26, 88, 89, 180, 184, 185 Chaos Construcción (2011–13), 70, 71, 181 Chaos Construcción II (2012), 84, 85, 181, 187 Chaos Construcción III (2018), 34, 120, 121, 122–23 Chaos Construcción IV (2018), 34, 124, 125 Chaos Construcción V (2018), 34, 135, 142, 143 Chaos DDC (2018), 46, 47, 186 Chaos Eibar (2008), 26, 28, 175 Chaos Espiral (2018), 134, 136, 137 Chaos Fisura (2013), 181, 183 Chaos Frenético (2014), 91, 183, 184 Chaos Getaria (2014), 106, 107, 181, 181 Chaos Goratu (2018), 33, 34, 111, 113, 114, 115 Chaos Harritu (2012), 26, 87, 179, 181 Chaos Ibai (2012), 179, 181 Chaos L A X (2016), 183, 184 Chaos L A XXIV (2016), 183, 184 Chaos Lasai (2012), 26, 90, 179 Chaos Leku (2012), 179 Chaos Madrid (2011), 11, 41, 68–69, 178, 179 Chaos Meteoro (2015), 15, 16–17, 29, 30, 42–43, 108, 109, 183 Chaos Moscow 1 (2008), 175 Chaos Moscow 2 (2008), 171, 171, 175 Chaos Moscow 3 (2008), 171, 171 Chaos Mundaka (2009), 12, 26, 44, 48, 57, 175, 175, 176–77, 181 Chaos Nervión (2011), 26, 29, 31, 32, 65, 66, 67, 179, 179 Chaos Pamplona (2010), 19, 26, 32, 58, 175, 178, 178, 181 Chaos Redux (2005), 183, 183 Chaos Sakon (2012), 97, 98–99, 179 Chaos San Sebastián (2008), 26, 27, 174, 175, 184, 184 Chaos Santa Monica V (2015), 181, 183 Chaos Santa Monica X (2015), 181, 183

Chaos SAS (2013), 2, 4–5, 6, 9, 32, 104, 105, 180, 181 Chaos Susse 22 (2007), 55 Chaos Toledo (2011), 61 Chaos Torre (2011), 72–73 Chaos Vascos (2007–8), 22, 23, 26, 32, 37, 44, 51, 53, 174, 175, 175, 178 Chaos Xaxis (2012), 42, 100, 101, 102, 183, 183 Chaos Zatitu (2018), 34, 134–35, 139, 140, 141 Chaos Zurrunbiloa (2018), 34, 110, 116, 117, 118–19 Eibar X (2011), 38 Fourth Section, The (1977), 157, 158, 158 Orbit (1981), 158, 159 Prayer (1996), 161, 161 Precipice (1996), 161, 161 Reliquary XIII (1997), 162, 162 Reliquary XVI (1997), 162, 162 Rise (1988), 160, 161 South London I (2018), 145, 186 South London II (2018), 146–47, 186 South London III (2018), 149, 186 South London IV (2018), 150–51, 186 South London V (2018), 153, 186 South London VI (2018), 154–55, 186 Study (1990), 159, 160 Susse 1 (2002–3), 169, 169 Susse 2 (2002–3), 169 Susse 3 (2002), 168, 169 Susse 6 (2002–3), 168, 169 Tumblindown (1993), 161, 161 Turbine (1992), 160, 161 Untitled (1974), 157, 157 Untitled (1984), 159 Untitled (1999), 39 Untitled (1999), 39 Untitled (1999), 39 Untitled (2000), 175, 175 Untitled (2001), 164, 165 Untitled (Chaos 13) (2004), 171, 171 Varick Street series (1997), 162, 162

PHOTO GR APH Y CREDITS

All efforts have been taken to identify copyright holders correctly. In cases of errors or omissions, please contact the publisher so that corrections can be made in any future editions. We would like to thank the private collectors, galleries and institutions who have given us permission to photograph their sculptures in situ or have provided images. All works by Jedd Novatt © Jedd Novatt, 2018. Photography by Prudence Cuming Associates, London © Waddington Custot, unless otherwise specified. p. 2 Jedd Novatt with Chaos SAS, 2013, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). Photograph © Robin Hill. pp. 4–5 Detail, Chaos SAS, 2013. Photograph © Robin Hill. pp. 6–7 Chaos SAS, 2013, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). Photograph © Anna M. Cugliari. pp. 8–9 Chaos SAS, 2013, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). Photograph © Gilles Bastianelli. pp. 10–11 Chaos Madrid, 2011, Beyond Limits. Sotheby’s At Chatsworth, Chatsworth, Derbyshire, 2011. Photograph © Sotheby’s, 2018. pp. 12–13 Chaos Mundaka, 2009, Beyond Limits. Sotheby’s At Chatsworth, Chatsworth, Derbyshire, 2009. Photograph © Sotheby’s, 2018. pp. 14–15 Chaos Meteoro, 2015, Beyond Limits. Sotheby’s At Chatsworth, Chatsworth, Derbyshire, 2016. Photograph © Sotheby’s, 2018. pp. 16–17 Detail, Chaos Meteoro, 2015. Photograph © Anna M. Cugliari. pp. 18–19 Chaos Pamplona, 2010, Beyond Limits. Sotheby’s At Chatsworth, Chatsworth, Derbyshire, 2010. Photograph © Sotheby’s, 2018. pp. 36–37 Studio, Provence, France, 2018. Photography © Anna M. Cugliari. p. 38 Studio, Provence, France, 2018. Top left: Eibar X, 2011, brushed stainless steel, 39 3/8 × 35 1/2 × 27 1/2 in (100 × 90 × 70 cm), edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs. Bottom left: Chaos 34, 2006, welded steel, 17 × 15 × 10 in (44 × 40 × 30 cm). Bottom right: CXV, 2001, bronze, 30 × 19 × 19 in (76 × 48 × 48 cm). Photography © Jooney Woodward. Courtesy Waddington Custot. p. 39 Studio, Provence, France, 2018. Top left: Detail, Chaos 7, 2005, painted steel, 78 3/4 × 45 1/4 × 27 5/8 in (200 × 115 × 70 cm). Top right (left to right): Untitled, 1999, steel, 26 3/4 × 26 3/8 × 15 in (68 × 67 × 38 cm); Untitled, 1999, steel, 24 × 21 1/4 × 10 1/4 in (61 × 54 × 26 cm); Untitled, 1999, steel, 18 7/8 × 18 1/8 × 10 1/4 in (48 × 46 × 26 cm). Photography © Jooney Woodward. Courtesy Waddington Custot. p. 41 Jedd Novatt with Chaos Madrid, 2011, Alfa Arte foundry, Eibar, June 2011. Photograph © Jesús Rodríguez. pp. 42–43 Jedd Novatt with Chaos Xaxis, 2012; Chaos Meteoro, 2015; and Chaos Bizkaia, 2012, Alfa Arte foundry, Eibar, June 2012. Photograph © Jesús Rodríguez. p. 44 Chaos Vascos, 2007–8, Alfa Arte foundry, Eibar, 2007. Bottom right: Chaos Mundaka, 2009, work in progress. Photography © Jesús Rodríguez. p. 45 Top: Alfa Arte foundry, Eibar, July 2007. Photograph © Jesús Rodríguez. Bottom: Alfa Arte foundry, Eibar, January 2008. Photograph © Jesús Rodríguez. pp. 46–47 Chaos DCC, 2018, work in progress, Castle Fine Arts Foundry, Liverpool, September 2018. Photography © Castle Fine Arts. p. 48 Chaos Mundaka, 2009, Alfa Arte foundry, Eibar, June 2009. Photograph © Jesús Rodríguez. p. 51 Chaos Vascos, 2007–8, Eskultura eta Paisaia, Deba, Spain, 2010. Photograph © Courtesy Kaioa ASP, S.L. pp. 52–53 Chaos Vascos, 2007–8, Beyond Limits. Sotheby’s At Chatsworth, 2008. Photograph © Sotheby’s 2018. p. 57 Chaos Mundaka, 2009, Beyond Limits. Sotheby’s At Chatsworth, 2009. Photograph © Sotheby’s 2018. pp. 58–59 Chaos Pamplona, 2010, Beyond Limits. Sotheby’s At Chatsworth, 2010. Photograph © Sotheby’s 2018. p. 61 Chaos Toledo, 2011, Private Collection, USA. Photograph © Anna M. Cugliari. pp. 62–63 Chaos Agosto, 2011, Private Collection, USA. Photography © Jody Dole Studio.

200 | 201

p. 65 Chaos Nervión, 2011, Bilbao Arts District, Campa de los Ingleses, City of Bilbao, Spain. Photograph © Iciar Rodríguez. pp. 66–67 Chaos Nervión, 2011, Bilbao Arts District, Campa de los Ingleses, City of Bilbao, Spain. Photography © Anna M. Cugliari. pp. 68–69 Detail, Chaos Madrid, 2011. Photograph © Sotheby’s, 2018. pp. 72–73 Chaos Torre, 2011, Private Collection, USA. Photography Courtesy Sponder Gallery, Miami, 2013. p. 75 Chaos Caliente, 2011, Private Collection, USA. Photograph © Jody Dole Studio. pp. 76–77 Detail, Chaos Caliente, 2011. Photograph © Jody Dole Studio. p. 78 Chaos Ábaco, 2012, and Chaos Caliente, 2011, Private Collection, USA. Photograph © Jody Dole Studio. p. 81 Chaos Ábaco, 2012, Private Collection, USA. Photograph © Jody Dole Studio. pp. 82–83 Chaos Ábaco, 2012, Lever House, New York City, 2013. Photography Courtesy Studio Novatt. p. 87 Chaos Harritu, 2012, Private Collection, USA. Photograph © Jody Dole Studio. pp. 88–89 Chaos Concepción, 2012, Beyond Limits. Sotheby’s At Chatsworth, 2013. Photography © Sotheby’s 2018. p. 91 Chaos Frenético, 2013. Photograph © Art Plural Gallery. Courtesy Custot Dubai. pp. 92–93 Chaos Bizkaia, 2012. Mary M. and Sash A. Spencer Sculpture Garden, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami. Photography © Robin Hill. p. 95 Detail, Chaos Bizkaia, 2012. Photograph © Robin Hill. pp. 100–101 Chaos Xaxis, 2012, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Vermont. Photograph © Pieter Broucke. pp. 102–3 Chaos Xaxis, 2012, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Vermont. Photograph © Brett Simison. pp. 104–5 Chaos SAS, 2013, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami. Photography © Robin Hill. pp. 106–7 Chaos Getaria, 2014, Siena Heights University, Adrian, Michigan. Photography © Laura Marsh. p. 108 Chaos Meteoro, 2015, Chatsworth House Trust, Derbyshire. Photograph © Jedd Novatt. p. 109 Chaos Meteoro, 2015, Chatsworth House Trust, Derbyshire. Photograph © Brian Carr. pp. 110–11 Chaos Zurrunbiloa, 2018, and Chaos Goratu, 2018, Alfa Arte foundry, Eibar. Photograph © Lopez de Zubiria. pp. 118–19 Chaos Zurrunbiloa, 2018, Alfa Arte foundry, Eibar. Photograph © Lopez de Zubiria. p. 133 Baltic 4, 2018, Private Collection, USA. Photograph © Jody Dole Studio. pp. 134–35 Chaos Espiral, 2018; Chaos Zatitu, 2018; and Chaos Construcción V, 2018, Alfa Arte foundry, Eibar. Photograph © Lopez de Zubiria. pp. 145–55 South London I–VI, 2018. Photography Steve Russell Studios © Waddington Custot. p. 203 Photograph © Dan Jones Images. Courtesy Waddington Custot.

Essay figures fig. 1. Chaos 8, 2005, painted steel, 100 3/4 × 39 3/8 × 29 1/2 in (256 × 100 × 75 cm). Photograph © Jooney Woodward. Courtesy Waddington Custot; fig. 2. Chaos 12, 2004–5, bronze, 110 × 84 × 46 in (279.4 × 213.4 × 116.8 cm). Galerie Faider, Brussels, 2017. Photograph © Anna M. Cugliari; fig. 3. Photograph © Xavier Bozo. Courtesy Studio Novatt; fig. 4. Julio González (1876–1942), Maternité (Maternity), 1934, steel and stone, 51 3/8 × 16 × 9 1/4 in (130.5 × 40.6 × 23.5 cm). Tate. Purchased 1970. Photograph © Tate, London; fig. 5. Jorge Oteiza (1908–2003), First variant, Chain of voids / Empty construction with four flat positive-negative, 2002 (based on an original piece, Construcción Vacía, made in 1957), Cor-ten steel, 236 1/4 × 56 1/4 × 244 in (600 × 675 × 620 cm). Jorge Oteiza © Pilar Oteiza, A+V Agencia de Creadores Visuales, 2018. Photograph © imageBROKER / Alamy Stock Photo; fig. 6. Eduardo Chillida (1924–2002), Peine del Viento (Comb of the Wind), 1976, Cor-ten steel © Zabalaga-Leku, DACS, London 2018. Photograph © Ayhan Altun / Alamy Stock Photo; fig. 7. Kazimir Malevich (1878–1935), Suprematist Composition: White on White, 1918. New York, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), oil on canvas, 31 1/4 × 31 1/4 in (79.4 × 79.4 cm). Acquisition confirmed in 1999 by agreement with the Estate of Kazimir Malevich and made possible with funds from the Mrs. John Hay Whitney Bequest (by exchange). 817.1935 © 2018. Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York / Scala, Florence; fig. 8. Donald Judd (1928–1994), Untitled, 1980, steel, aluminium and perspex, 9 × 40 × 31 in (22.9 × 101.6 × 78.7 cm). Tate. Purchased 1980 © Judd Foundation / ARS, NY and DACS, London, 2018. Photograph © Tate, London, 2018; fig. 9. Chaos San Sebastián, 2008, bronze, 39 3/8 × 27 1/2 × 25 5/8 in (100 × 70 × 65 cm). Private Collections. Photograph © Alain Leprince; fig. 10. Photograph Prudence Cuming Associates © Waddington Custot; fig. 11. Chaos Eibar, 2008, bronze, 39 3/8 × 35 1/2 × 27 1/2 in (100 × 90 × 70 cm). Photograph Courtesy Alfa Arte; fig. 12. Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Deux femmes courant sur la plage (La course), 1922, gouache on plywood, 12 3/4 × 16 1/4 in (32.5 × 41.1 cm). © Succession Picasso / DACS, London 2018. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée national Picasso-Paris) / Mathieu Rabeau; fig. 13. Photograph © Sotheby’s, 2018; fig. 14. Photograph © Iciar Rodríguez; fig. 15. Photograph Prudence Cuming Associates © Waddington Custot.

Chronology figures Photography Courtesy Studio Novatt: figs. 14, 22, 31, 42, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 59; fig. 1. Untitled, 1974, soapstone, 4 3/4 × 4 1/2 × 2 in (12 × 11.4 × 5 cm); fig. 2. Blueberry Pie, 1976, polyester resin and wood, 10 × 6 × 12 in (25.4 × 15.2 × 30.5 cm); fig. 4. Cage, 1977, welded steel, painted, approx. 9 × 3 × 3 ft; fig. 5. Orbit, 1981, welded steel, painted, approx. 8 × 8 × 3 ft; fig. 6. Untitled, 1984, welded steel, painted, approx. 4 1/2 × 2 1/2 × 2 ft; fig. 7. Study, 1990, oil stick and gouache on paper collage, 18 × 19 in (45.7 × 48.3 cm); fig. 9. Turbine, 1992, painted steel, 65 × 24 × 23 in (165 × 61 × 58.4 cm). Private Collection, USA; fig. 10. Archscape, 1992, painted steel, 30 × 40 × 25 in (76.2 × 101.6 × 63.5 cm). Private Collection, USA; fig. 11. Tumblindown, 1993, painted steel, 78 × 25 × 25 in (198 × 63.5 × 63.5 cm). Private Collection, USA; fig. 15. Reliquary XIII, 1997, collage, 6 1/8 × 12 7/8 in (15.6 × 32.7 cm). Private Collection, USA; fig. 16. Reliquary XVI, 1997, collage, 8 3/8 × 18 in (21.3 × 45.7 cm). Private Collection, USA; fig. 17. IX, 1998, steel, 22 × 12 × 8 in (55.9 × 30.5 × 20.3 cm); fig. 18. VII, 1998, steel, 76 × 68 1/2 × 25 1/2 in (193 × 174 × 64.8 cm). Collection La Piscine, Musée d’Art et d’Industrie André Diligent, Roubaix; fig. 19. X, 1998, bronze, 40 × 28 × 29 in (101.6 × 71 × 73.7 cm). Private Collection, New York; fig. 20. XI, 1998, bronze, 68 × 28 × 22 in (172.7 × 71 × 55.9 cm); fig. 21. XIV, 1998, bronze, 66 × 28 × 20 in (167.6 × 71 × 50.8 cm); fig. 23. VI, 1998, steel, 89 × 35 1/2 × 23 1/2 in (226 × 90.2 × 59.7 cm). Collection La Piscine, Musée d’Art et d’Industrie André Diligent, Roubaix; fig. 24. Untitled, 2001, bronze, approx. 18 ft high. Private Collection, Cleveland; fig. 25. CI, 2000, bronze, 88 × 43 × 40 in (223.5 × 109.2 × 101.6 cm). Private Collection, New York; fig. 26. CXVIII, 2000, bronze, 94 × 46 × 34 in (238.8 × 116.8 × 86.4 cm). Private Collection, Miami; fig. 27. CXXIV, 2000, bronze, 99 × 36 × 40 in (251.5 × 91.4 × 101.6 cm); fig. 29. Susse 1, 2002–3, bronze, 68 × 57 × 39 in (172.7 × 144.8 × 99 cm). Private Collection, France; fig. 30. Susse 6, 2002–3, bronze, 81 ×

45 × 33 in (205.7 × 114.3 × 83.8 cm). Private Collection, New York; fig. 32. Untitled (Chaos 13), 2004, bronze, 108 × 132 × 48 in (274.3 × 335.3 × 121.9 cm). Private Collection, Boca Raton; fig. 34. Chaos Moscow 2, 2008, bronze, 40 × 30 × 30 in (101.6 × 76.2 × 76.2 cm). Private Collection. fig. 3. The Fourth Section, 1977, steel, 50 × 60 × 14 1/4 in (127 × 152.4 × 36.2 cm). Sarah Lawrence College Collection, Gift of Jedd Novatt, 1980. Photography Courtesy Sarah Lawrence College; fig. 8. Rise, 1988, steel and oil paint, 70 7/8 × 27 5/8 × 9 1/2 in (180 × 70 × 24 cm). Photograph © Alain Leprince; fig. 12. Precipice, 1996, painted steel, 22 × 15 × 3 in (55.9 × 38 × 7.6 cm). Private Collection, USA. Photography © Seth Jason; fig. 13. Prayer, 1996, painted steel, 25 3/4 × 14 × 4 in (65.4 × 35.6 × 10.2 cm). Private Collection, USA. Photography © Seth Jason; figs. 25 & 26. Photography © Paul Waldman; fig. 28. CXL, 2001, bronze, 12 × 6 × 5 ft. Photograph Courtesy Galerie Hopkins Custot; fig. 33. Photograph Courtesy Karl Hutter Fine Art; fig. 35. Chaos Moscow 3, 2008, bronze, 15 × 10 × 10 in (38 × 25.4 × 25.4 cm). Private Collection, USA. Photograph © Jody Dole Studio; fig. 36. Photography © Alain Leprince; fig. 37. Photography © Alain Leprince; fig. 38. Chaos San Sebastián, 2008. Photograph Courtesy Alfa Arte; fig. 39. Untitled, 2000, welded steel and bronze, 24 × 14 × 18 in (61 × 35.6 × 45.7 cm). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Lauren and Steven Spilman 2008.63. Photograph © The Cleveland Museum of Art; fig. 40. Photograph Courtesy Savannah College of Art and Design; fig. 41. Photograph Courtesy Alfa Arte; fig. 43. Chaos AMC, 2011, bronze, 88 5/8 × 70 7/8 × 70 7/8 in (225 × 180 × 180 cm). Private Collection, USA. Photograph © Jody Dole Studio; fig. 47. Photography Andrew Smart, A. C. Copper (Colour) Ltd., 2012. Courtesy Hamiltons Gallery; fig. 50. Photograph © Laura Marsh; fig. 51. Photography Courtesy Art Plural Gallery; fig. 52. Chaos Santa Monica V, 2015, monotype: oil on paper, Arches off-white, 41 1/2 × 29 1/2 in (105.4 × 74.9 cm). Photograph © Didier Coeck; fig. 53. Chaos Santa Monica X, 2015, monotype: oil on paper, Arches offwhite, 41 1/2 × 29 1/2 in (105.4 × 74.9 cm). Photograph © Didier Coeck; fig. 54. Chaos Redux, 2005, bronze, 126 × 96 × 36 in (320 × 243.8 × 91.4 cm). Collection El Paso Museum of Art. Anonymous gift in honour of Madeline Schepis Cugliari. Photograph © El Paso Museum of Art; fig. 55. Photograph © Pieter Broucke; fig. 56. Photograph © Anna M. Cugliari; fig. 57. Chaos L A X, 2016, monotype: oil on paper, Arches off-white, 41 1/2 × 29 1/2 in (105.4 × 74.9 cm). Photograph © Didier Coeck; fig. 58. Chaos L A XXIV, 2016, monotype: oil on paper, Arches off-white, 41 1/2 × 29 1/2 in (105.4 × 74.9 cm). Photograph © Didier Coeck; fig. 60. Photograph Courtesy Savannah College of Art and Design; fig. 61. All works by Peter Halley © Peter Halley. Left: Ancillary Control, 2001, acrylic, Day-Glo, pearlescent and metallic acrylic, and Roll-a-Tex on canvas, 73 × 144 in (185.4 × 365.8 cm). Right: Dust, 2009, acrylic, Day-Glo acrylic and Roll-a-Tex on canvas, 80 × 57 in (203.2 × 144.8 cm). Photography © Mark Blower. Courtesy Waddington Custot.

Acknowledgements Jedd Novatt would like to thank all those who have assisted in the realisation of this book and the works reproduced herein: StĂŠphane Custot, Clare Preston, Melissa Hamnett, Anna Cugliari, Caleb Novatt, Jacob Twyford and the staff at Waddington Custot; Louise and Joseph Parzick, Ronald Marks, Castle Fine Arts, Alfa Arte Foundry and the Mary M. Spencer and Sash A. Spencer Foundation.

Author Melissa Hamnett is Curator of Sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. She specialises in modern and contemporary sculpture and has worked on multiple displays and capital projects since her arrival at the Museum in 2005. She is a trustee for the Decorative Arts Society 1850-Present and advises on contemporary sculpture awards and public sculpture initiatives in the UK and abroad.

Waddington Custot 11 Cork Street London W1S 3LT www.waddingtoncustot.com www.jeddnovatt.com

Edited by Clare Preston Designed by Praline, Al Rodger and David Tanguy Printed by Unicum, Tilburg The Tipping Point © Melissa Hamnett, 2018 © Waddington Custot, London, 2018 Published by Waddington Custot ISBN 978-1-9164568-1-5