“Between the Torus and the Sphere I,” Richard Serra (printer’s proof 2)
When asked to pick a favorite piece from the permanent collection, several art faculty members chose the Richard Serra etching, which hangs in the hallway connecting Climenhaga and the High Center.
“Hands down, it’s great,” said Brenton Good, chair of the Department of Visual Arts. “It appears quiet because it’s black and white, but then you see there’s a lot going on.”
Serra, a U.S. minimalist born in 1939 and one of the most gifted artists of his generation, makes large-scale sculptures of sheet metal.
In a series of five etchings, American sculptor Serra explored the transference of the weight and monumentality of his sculpture onto printed paper. Over the years, Serra has worked closely with master printers to develop new techniques for creating texture on flat paper. The resulting super-rough, raised surfaces—the texture of which was taken from asphalt road paving—compels viewers to experience the prints in a physical, three-dimensional way.