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"At
certain moments in history, one encounters a work of art that
possesses the aesthetic and contextual strength to signal the start
of a new era. The Creation Sculptures is such a
work.
Within
its forms lie the imagery and beauty to spark an American
renaissance."
James
Cooper, Editor of American Arts Quarterly
Frederick Hart's
sculpture is timeless, important and enduring. It strives to
restore wholeness and beauty of authentic humanness, and bring
emotional and moral health, dignity and integrity to the human form
and the mystery of the human spirit. Born in the modernist
era whose prevailing winds consistently blew against him, Frederick
Hart stubbornly refused to change his vision to suit the times. His
work is at once traditional in its adherence to the human figure,
radical in its sensuality, and innovative in its materials. These
qualities place Frederick Hart's sculpture in the ranks of the most
distinguished American artists of the twentieth
century.
"Within
the delicately turned forms and exquisitely chiseled features of
Hart's Creation Sculptures is the DNA of a new
movement...It has the tender power of a
Michelangelo."
James Cooper, Editor of American Arts
Quarterly
Frederick
Hart's most celebrated public commissions include The Creation
Sculptures on the west fa�ade of Washington National Cathedral,
which include three tympana Ex Nihilo, Creation of
Day and Creation of Night, and three trumeau figures,
St. Peter, St. Paul and Adam carved in Indiana
limestone. Frederick Hart worked on this commission for almost 13
years. Author Tom Wolfe commented in The New York Times in January
2000: "(Hart) won what would turn out to be the biggest and most
prestigious commission for religious sculpture in America in the
twentieth century."
Another important
monument created by Frederick Hart - the heroic bronze statue
Three Soldiers, Vietnam Veterans Memorial - stands in
Washington, D.C. Unveiled in 1984, it has become one of the most
visited monuments in our capital. This work epitomizes Hart's
belief about the role of art in society, commenting that it should
"touch our fears and cares, evoke our dreams and give hope to
the darkness."
A
major accomplishment of Frederick Hart is the pioneer use of clear
acrylic resin to create cast figurative sculptures. He patented the
process by which one clear acrylic sculpture was embedded within
another. In 1997, a unique casting of The Cross of the
Millennium was presented by Hart to Pope John Paul II in
Vatican, who called this sculpture "a profound theological
statement for our day".
In
2004, five years after the artist's death, Frederick Hart was
posthumously awarded The National Medal of Arts - the highest
honor given an artist by the United States Government for his
public works Ex Nihilo and Three Soldiers which "heralded a new age
for contemporary public art"
If art is to flourish
in the 21st century, it must renew its moral authority
by rededicating itself to life. It must be an enriching, ennobling
and vital partner in the public pursuit of civilization. It should
be a majestic presence in everyday life just as it was in the
past."
Frederick
Hart
The exhibition at
Contessa Gallery will feature important and rare works in bronze,
clear acrylic resin and marble.
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