Opening Reception for Philip Grausman Exhibition

WAA will mark its 70th anniversary milestone with an exhibition by renowned local sculptor Philip Grausman, a much-esteemed treasure of the community. Join us for the opening reception on June 11th from 4pm–6pm. The exhibition will be on display through July 24, 2022.

Grausman’s sculpture not only eclipses contemporary style it also embodies an interesting comparison with the abstraction of ancient Egypt, the idealism of Greece and the representational power of Roman sculpture. In Grausman’s portraits the eye travels across the contours of a face as if one were flying over a hilly landscape. Inconsequential details are extracted, and volume and form are free. There is a great indebtedness to landscape and his interest in biomorphic abstraction predates the portraits.

As Michael Brenson wrote in the Times “Mr. Grausman has described his heads as landscapes, and indeed his aluminum seems to sprout and swell like trees and fruit. In looking for a way of extending the tradition of sculpture from nature, he has found a surprising path.”

Artist Statement
“Since the early 1980’s, I have completed a number of monumentally scaled sculptures inspired from portrait heads originally modeled from life.  These large-scaled heads are not portraits in a conventional sense.  Rather, I view them as landscapes, an association expressed through a shared sense of scale. The sculpture titled “Mikey” in the entrance to the Gallery, represents my continuing search for an essential distillation of sculptural form.  Fiberglass allows me to create and exhibit on a large scale. The whiteness of the forms appeals to me and suggests a drawing experience where the white page is transformed by line and contour. Here, the model first posed for a life-size portrait made in clay, which was later cast into stainless steel.  At a later date, I decided to enlarge the sculpture so that it’s sensuous and curving forms more evidently evoked the scale of landscape. Creating each portrait sculpture is like sight-reading an unfamiliar musical score. It is the hidden geometry and interlocking volumes that inspire me.” – Philip Grausman, 2022

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday – Saturday 10am – 5 pm
Sunday Noon – 4pm