Sculpture No. 4

Artist Mel Kendrick (American, born 1949)

Date1991 (design), 1994 (cast)

DimensionsH: 104 1/4 in. (264.8 cm); Max Base W: 68 11/16 in. (174.5 cm); Min. Base W: 33 5/16 in. (84.7 cm)

MediumCast bronze

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of The Georgia Welles Apollo Society

Object number

1994.42

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Sculpture Garden

Label TextTo make his sculptures, Mel Kendrick slices through large blocks of wood with a chainsaw and then arranges the cut pieces until he is satisfied with the composite shape that emerges. He makes no attempt to mask the process of creation: his woodcarving is improvisational. During the 1980s, he began casting some of his wood sculpture into bronze. He explained, “In some ways, my work in bronze clarifies what I’m doing because the bronze exaggerates the natural [qualities of wood], allowing an awareness of saw marks and wood grains.” Look closely at Sculpture No. 4 and you can see grooves from the saw, drips of glue, and other evidence of his working method, preserved in the bronze.Exhibition HistoryHamilton, New Jersey, Grounds for Sculpture, Spring/Summer '94, 1994.

The Toledo Museum of Art, A Decade of Giving: The Apollo Society at the Toledo Museum of Art, 1996, p. 21, repr. (col.).

Toledo Museum of Art, Inspired Giving: The Apollo Society 25th Anniversary Exhibition, October 15, 2010-February 13, 2011, p. 24, repr. (col.) p. 24.