Untitled

Artist Joel Shapiro (American, born 1941)

Date1991

DimensionsH: 44 in. (111.8 cm); W: 62 in. (157.5 cm); Depth: 79 3/4 in. (202.6 cm)

MediumBronze.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of Georgia and David K. Welles

Object number

2003.56

On View

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

Label TextIs this a purely abstract sculpture? Or does this work represent a person falling, running, sliding, or perhaps even standing on his or her head? Joel Shapiro said, “Form is a surrogate for the individual artist, and form as a reflection of the artist is always there, even in the most abstract work. There is a figural component in all work…I see it as a metaphor for the artist’s mind and body and sense of self.” Shapiro’s sculpture invites various interpretations. Instead of making figures with clearly defined limbs, he allows his blocky sculpture to suggest a human figure with a wide range of gestures. What do you see the figure doing?Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art; Crosby Gardens, Citywide Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, 1984, no. 27, p. 26, repr. p. 42.