Gallery at The Boca Raton

To the artist, the imagery of the sculpture is that of a book. “The geometric shapes are the pages as well as iconic images representing the World Trade Center, while the organic shapes are in motion,” Barrett said. What sort of motion, he leaves to the viewer to decide.
  
Barrett began by crafting many more organic shapes than he used, giving weight and mass to his emotions and finding catharsis in the act of self-expression. Then, like a writer penning a history, from all these many lives he selected the few that would best tell the story of them all; of the men and women in the buildings and of the first responders in the streets, of every citizen of the United States of America and, of course, of his own fear, anger, and hope.
 
And it’s okay to see what you need to see, says the artist. “Abstract art is like music in that when you listen to a song, everyone has different ideas about it, feels different emotions because of it. Even the same person listening to a piece at different times will feel differently. That’s true of abstract art. As a viewer, you can interpret it for yourself as well as seeing what the artist made. That’s what I like about abstract art: you get a chance to participate.”

Boaz Vaadia was born on a farm in Israel in 1951. He moved to New York City to study art in 1975 on a grant from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.  His compelling works have won him audiences worldwide.

His materials, slate and bluestone were formed by layers of sediment compressing over millions of years.  He hand carves slices of the stone with a hammer and chisel, (shaping the layers like a topographical map), and stacks the slabs until the graded silhouette of a person, animal or group emerges.  His process parallels natural transformations in stone, and also recalls ancient methods of construction that relied on the cut and weight of the stone rather than on mortar.

He then pairs them with glacial boulders which function as counterpoints to the figures.  These boulders settled in the New York Bay area during the ice age. Most of them are excavated from construction sites within 20 blocks of his studio.

Sculptures are later cast using the "lost wax" method. This is the most precise casting technique in existence, insuring accurate reproduction of the original stone sculpture and exquisite detail of the stone’s texture. Lost wax casting dates back thousands of years and is a fascinating process. While modern methods and materials have improved the technique, it is still an extremely labor intensive and expensive process.

One of the leading sculptors in Britain after World War II, Lynn Chadwick is well known for both abstract and figurative works that embodied the tensions of the post-war era. His precariously balanced and monumental geometric figures have brought him international renown.

Lynn Chadwick was born in London in 1914.  He worked as an architectural draftsman in the late 1930’s and served as a pilot during World War II.  Though his family appreciated the arts, they dissuaded him from pursuing formal training in sculpting, pointing out the difficulty of making a living in the arts in Depression-era England.

Chadwick’s art career began in 1950 at his first solo exhibition in London which featured mobiles similar to those by Alexander Calder, whose work at the time was unknown to him. He soon eliminated the kinetic element of his sculpture but continued to use construction and assemblage methods rather than carving or modeling.

One of the leading sculptors in Britain after World War II, Lynn Chadwick is well known for both abstract and figurative works that embodied the tensions of the post-war era. His precariously balanced and monumental geometric figures have brought him international renown.

Lynn Chadwick was born in London in 1914.  He worked as an architectural draftsman in the late 1930’s and served as a pilot during World War II.  Though his family appreciated the arts, they dissuaded him from pursuing formal training in sculpting, pointing out the difficulty of making a living in the arts in Depression-era England.

Chadwick’s art career began in 1950 at his first solo exhibition in London which featured mobiles similar to those by Alexander Calder, whose work at the time was unknown to him. He soon eliminated the kinetic element of his sculpture but continued to use construction and assemblage methods rather than carving or modeling.