PIECE SPECIFICATIONS:
Steel, Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, Bronze, Ductile Iron, 106" × 83" × 32"
CREATION DATE:
2010
click photos to enlarge
HOMETOWN:
Alfred Station, New York
FROM THE ARTIST:
"To see that which is not normally seen," is the underlying theme of ROOTS REMEMBERED. I collected roots for approximately five years. I then made ceramic molds of the roots, burned out the organic matter and finally cast the voids with various metals.I love the power of circles; they are so eternal and strong. Try to find Venus and small guardians in the roots. Some of the roots are from an original Zweygardt timber claim in Kansas, thus a rediscovery of my ancestral roots."
The works of Glenn Zweygardt are simultaneously ancient and contemporary. With his use of diverse materials - cast bronze, glass, iron, marble, stainless steel, stone and granite - he creates complex media sculptures that exemplify a master of the three dimensional form.
Zweygardt possesses an uncanny ability to fuse dissimilar elements and concepts, natural occurring and fabricated forms, into structures that command the attention if the observer. This interaction of artist, nature and technology has a unifying affect on the observer's imagery and psyche.
Duplication and relationship is a recurring theme found throughout Zweygardt's work. A carefully chosen stone, cast and duplicated in bronze, aluminum or steel becomes the basis of definite architectural themes that manifest in a range of sizes. Zweygardt's mastery of the building process along with his ability to create enormous works of art from materials of tremendous mass has gained him international recognition and membership to the Berman Group, a cooperative of sculptors whose collective work spans virtually the entire spectrum of possibilities of "traditional" modernist sculpture.
Kansas born, Zweygardt earned the BFA degree from Wichita State in 1967. He received the MFA from the Maryland Institute of Art in 1969 and is an emeritus Professor of Sculpture at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Zweygardt works independently in his immense workshop in Alfred Station, New York. Here his work continues to evolve-varied shapes and rich surfaces, transparent and dense forms, concept and technical relationships, personal and collective perceptions-into fine art of eminent legacy.
