Richard Serra is an American sculptor best-known for his massive steel sculptures. He was born in San Francisco in 1938 and was largely influenced by his father’s work in shipyards and steel mills. Serra himself worked in steel mills after graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1961 with a B.A. in English Literature. He then studied painting at the Yale School of Art until 1964 before traveling to Paris and Florence. He now lives and works in New York.
At the beginning of his career, Serra’s work consisted mainly of smaller sculptures made out of unconventional materials such as lead, neon, timber, rubber, and steel. His work was heavily process-based and the artist sometimes produced films, such as Hand Catching Lead (1968) of his creative process.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Serra’s sculptures shifted towards large, self-supporting steel structures that tower over the viewer. His pieces often begin as smaller lead models, which are then actualized into forms of weathered steel. His constructions are minimalist in their yet material yet maximalist in their size, reaching heights of as much as 80 feet. Serra’s steel works are popular for site-specific commissions due to their ability to manipulate a large space and the public’s perception of it. He continues to produce these structures for locations all over the world.
Serra has been featured in countless solo and group exhibitions both in the US and internationally, and his work is included in numerous collections of notable institutions such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, the Musée National d’Art Moderne, and more.