b. 1938, United States

Richard Serra Artworks

Richard Serra's iconic monumental Minimalist constructions, typically comprised of self-supporting, shaped and angled corten steel plates, challenge sculptural conventions of scale, material, and subject matter, as well as viewers' perceptions of gravity, bodily alignment, and planar space.

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Props

Serra's 'Prop' pieces in the late 1960s, in which rolls of lead and sheets of other metals were arranged in configurations held together only by gravity, were precursors to the increasingly large-scale public work that developed when in the 1970s he turned his attention outdoors.

Outdoor Sculpture

Moving out of the gallery space Serra began creating monumental sculptures in the form of long, curving, horizontal or tall, and seemingly precarious (but partially buried) continuous steel sheets. Serra's works from the 1970s onward responded to, but jarringly altered, the landscapes and urban public places in which they were installed.

In the 1980s, as Serra's large-scale works were being taken to new heights and becoming commonplace across Europe, he encountered controversy in the United States with the installation of Tilted Arc (1981), a 3.7-metre-high, rusted corten steel arc crossing New York's Foley Federal Plaza. Disputes between the civic authorities, the public, and the artist resulted in its dismantlement in 1989, and carried on after.

Painting, Drawing, Prints and Film

Since the early 1970s Richard Serra has also produced dark drawings made with black paintstick, ink and paint on paper and canvas, as well as prints. These two-dimensional works evoke the same approach to time, process and materiality that define his sculpture.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s Serra also made experimental films and videos. An early example is the self-explanatory 16mm, black-and-white film, Hand Catching Lead (1968), most of these films involved carrying out short bursts of manual tasks or actions within a limited time frame.

Rounds and Ellipses

Since the early 1990s, Serra's sculpture has taken new forms such as the open-but-enveloping 'Torqued Ellipse', and solid circular forged steel 'Rounds'. Serra also made several 'Rounds' prints, in a hands on process that produced textured black-hole like circles on paper. Richard Serra's Transmitter (2020), while differing from the exact Torqued Ellipse shape, follows the same semi-closed enveloping approach to space.

Serra continues to show his drawings and monumental sculptural installations in galleries, sculpture parks and public spaces around the world.

Public Commissions

Over the course of his more than five decade career, Richard Serra has been comissioned to produce numerous artworks for public spaces. His monumental steel constructions can be found in public locations across the globe from France to New Zealand.

Alongside the infamous Tilted Arc, other examples that generated less controversy include the towering Fulcrum (1987), near Liverpool Street station in London; Wake (2003), with its five pairs of closed-form S-shapes in Seattle's Olympic Sculpture Park, the colossal 180-tonne Snake (1997) permanently installed at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and the 80-foot 7 (2011) for the Museum of Islamic Art Park, in Doha.

Horizontal Reversal 1 by Richard Serra contemporary artwork painting, drawing
Richard Serra Horizontal Reversal 1, 2017 Paintstick and silica
38 x 106.5 cm
Galerie Lelong & Co. Paris Request Price & Availability
Composite IV by Richard Serra contemporary artwork painting, drawing
Richard Serra Composite IV, 2018 Paintsick and silica
Galerie Lelong & Co. Paris Request Price & Availability
Bight 6 by Richard Serra contemporary artwork print
Richard Serra Bight 6, 2011 Etching
68.5 x 56 cm
Galerie Lelong & Co. Paris Request Price & Availability
Elevational Weight 4 by Richard Serra contemporary artwork drawing, mixed media
Richard Serra Elevational Weight 4, 2016 Paintstick and silica
61 x 76.2 cm
Galerie Lelong & Co. Paris Request Price & Availability
Elevational Weight 3 by Richard Serra contemporary artwork painting, drawing, mixed media
Richard Serra Elevational Weight 3, 2016 Paintstick and silica
76.2 x 61 cm
Galerie Lelong & Co. Paris Request Price & Availability
Orchard Street #12 by Richard Serra contemporary artwork works on paper
Richard Serra Orchard Street #12, 2018 Etching ink and silica on handmade paper
47 1/4 x 31 3/4 inches
David Zwirner Request Price & Availability
Rift II by Richard Serra contemporary artwork print
Richard Serra Rift II, 2013 Etching
238.8 x 244 cm
Galerie Lelong & Co. Paris Request Price & Availability
Mandela by Richard Serra contemporary artwork print
Richard Serra Mandela, 2012 Gravure
238.8 x 152.5 cm
Galerie Lelong & Co. Paris Request Price & Availability
Double Rift V by Richard Serra contemporary artwork painting, drawing
Richard Serra Double Rift V, 2014 Paintstick
152.4 x 457.2 cm
Galerie Lelong & Co. Paris Request Price & Availability
Bight 7 by Richard Serra contemporary artwork print
Richard Serra Bight 7, 2011 Etching
68.5 x 56 cm
Galerie Lelong & Co. Paris Request Price & Availability
Bight 1 by Richard Serra contemporary artwork print
Richard Serra Bight 1, 2011 Etching
68.5 x 56 cm
Galerie Lelong & Co. Paris Request Price & Availability
Equal VIII by Richard Serra contemporary artwork painting
Richard Serra Equal VIII, 2018 Painstik and silica on two sheets of handmade paper
181.6 x 99.1 cm
Mo J Gallery Request Price & Availability
Ballast I by Richard Serra contemporary artwork print
Richard Serra Ballast I, 2011 1 color etching
91.44 x 41.91 cm
Mo J Gallery Request Price & Availability
Weight I by Richard Serra contemporary artwork print
Richard Serra Weight I, 2009 1 color etching
198.12 x 91.44 cm
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Mo J Gallery
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