RONALD BLADEN
SCULPTURE OF THE 1960S & 1970S
Black Lightning, (Monumental) 1981, Painted aluminum 288 x 720 x 58 inches Edition of 3 Seattle Center Sculpture Garden Seattle, Washington
RONALD BLADEN SCULPTURE OF THE 1960S & 1970S
MONUMENTAL & GARDEN SCALE OUTDOOR SCULPTURE WORKING MODELS & RELATED DRAWINGS
ESSAY BY IRVING SANDLER
33 EAST 68TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10065 212 570-2362 GALLERY@JACOBSONHOWARD.COM
RONALD BLADEN by Irving Sandler
Three Elements (Garden) 1966, Painted wood, aluminum 112 x 48 x 21 inches Edition of 3 The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
As a young man Ronald Bladen was a member of a group of anarcho-pacifist artists, writers
mands, he was the exemplary artist to a wide circle
etry.” He also added, “I desired something in the
of painters and sculptors.
grand manner since I’m still romantic.”
and musicians, among them Kenneth Rexroth,
Prior to becoming a sculptor in the early 1960s,
Bladen has often been linked to Donald Judd
Robert Duncan and Philip Lamantia, who formed
Bladen had painted lyrical Abstract Expressionist
and Robert Morris, who might be termed hard-core
the Liberation Circle. The radical attitudes Bladen
canvases, avant-garde at the time. Composed of
Minimalists. But he was very different. He rejected
developed then continued to inform his life and
heavily painted organic forms that protrude into
their anti-romantic attitude and what they termed
art. The Abstract Expressionist painter Barnett
space, they “brought me off the wall,” as he said.
“anti-anthropomorphism,” that is, their purging
Newman, a fellow anarchist, wrote that anarchists
Then, in 1960, he rejected organic forms as too
of any sign of the human body and its gestures.
are “intoxicated with the love of personal free-
commonplace and built a number of large plywood
Bladen’s romanticism and humanity are evident in
dom,” embracing above all “the autonomy of the
bas-reliefs whose projecting plank-like components
a work titled Three Elements (1966), composed of
Individual.”1 He also wrote, “Only those are free
were elementary “letter” forms, for example, an
a row of three free-standing, nine-foot high, rhom-
who are free from the values of the establishment.
inverted C or an L. His next move was to create
boid-like monoliths, each tilted so as to appear
And that’s what anarchism is all about.” Bladen
monumental Minimalist sculptures in the round.
precariously balanced, and painted black with the
rarely talked about his political beliefs, but he sub-
His intention in the work was, as he said, “to push
outer diagonal side sheathed in aluminum.
scribed to these axioms. An independent spirit who
abstract art a little bit further [past the prevailing
Three Elements was exhibited that year in
refused to bow to art world powers and their de-
open construction-sculpture] but not lose the po-
Primary Structures, a comprehensive survey of
2
2
ed space, sculpture as field, or as line—and devel-
works are based on the upward aspiring diagonal,
oped it in a spectacular manner. In Black Triangle
the heroic diagonal—a metaphor for transcen-
(1966-67), he inverted a triangular volume 9 feet
dence, as in Cathedral Evening (1971), Flying
four inches high, 10 feet long, and 13 feet across
Fortress (Maquette), (1974-78), Host of the Ellipse
the top. Poising it on its vertex, he overturned the
(Garden), (1979) and Black Lightning (1981). A re-
usual expectations of how the sculpture ought to
lated work, Light Year (1979), thrusts forward as if
sit. Indeed, the form calls as much attention to
preparing to soar. His intention in these sculptures,
the space it activates as to its massiveness. The
which is evident even in the small models, was, as
22-foot high X (1967-68) almost overwhelmed
he said, “to reach that area of excitement belong-
the great hall of Washington’s Corcoran Gallery
ing to natural phenomena such as if a gigantic
of Art in which it was installed. In Black Minimal Art, at the Jewish Museum. The exhibi-
Lightning (1981), a 24-foot high zig-
tion was characterized by sculptor Mark di Suvero
zag line points upward—to the ineffable
as “the keystone show of the 1960s [which] in-
sublime—like an upward index finger
troduced a new generation of sculptors.” Three
in Christian art—a trajectory that is
clockwise: The Sentinels, (Model) 1972, Painted wood 8 x 9 x 7 inches each Edition 2 of 3
Elements stood out; it literally made the art world
breath-taking.
Coltrane, (Structural Model) 1970, Wood 30 x 171/2 x 171/2 inches Unique Flying Fortress, (Maquette) 1974-78 Painted cardboard 111/2 x 33 x 27/8 inches Unique
look up. Di Suvero singled out Bladen’s work as
Bladen’s sculptures may look mini-
“the one great piece in the show. It expands our
mal on the outside but internally they
idea of scale and changes our knowledge of space.
are complex. His simple forms have an
It is radiant.”3 Di Suvero was right. Bladen’s sculp-
elaborate but concealed infrastructure,
ture had an astonishing presence, which, as Alex
whose construction is seen in the struc-
Katz quipped, “assassinated” its neighbors.
tural model for Coltrane (1970). To my
If Three Elements was Minimalist in appear-
knowledge, Bladen never explained why
ance, it was anything but anti-romantic and anti-
he devoted so much of his time and
anthropomorphic in spirit. The diagonal of the gi-
energy building frameworks that were
ant volumes is reminiscent of a human gesture,
not only invisible but were in fact struc-
at once epic and grand, like the backward lean of
turally unnecessary. It may be that he
Rodin’s Balzac, and vulnerable, suggesting falling
thought that his forms had to be found
or bowing. The three forms can also be viewed as
in the process of artistic-making, that is
a grand procession—anthropomorphic menhirs on
earned, a carryover from his Abstract
the move.
Expressionist upbringing.
Three Elements was one of a number of ma-
Much as Bladen was occupied with
jestic, elemental pieces that made the art world
volume, he was also absorbed by light.
pay attention. In each, Bladen took a new spatial
In different pieces, he used reflective
idea—such as a unitary mass, a volume in extend-
lacquers, aluminum coating, semi-gloss blacks and metal skins. Indeed, from 1982 to 1988, the year of his death at the age of
wave poised before it makes its fall. . . . The drama
69, light became the essential “form” of a series
is best described as awesome or breathtaking.”4
of pieces. In these sculptures, elaborate painted
Bladen’s humane variant of Minimalism extended
wood frameworks are the “substructures” for
its range in fresh and dramatic directions.
curved, polished aluminum sheets that trap light as they reflect it, the reflections seeming to signal cosmic space with earthly luminescence. At the same time that Bladen was constructing his light pieces he was creating small works that had been or might have become models for huge pieces had he lived. But in their own right, they are fully resolved works. Bladen invented a rich variety of volumes and shapes. Many of these
1. Barnett Newman, “The True Revolution Is Anarchist,” p. 45. The phrase is Herzen’s. 2. Barnett Newman, “The True Revolution Is Anarchist!” Foreward to Memoirs of a Revolutionist by Peter Kropotkin, in Barnett Newman, Selected Writings, pp. 50-51. 3. Symposium on Primary Structures at the Jewish Museum, May 2, 1966, with Kynaston McShine, Barbara Rose, Robert Morris, Donald Judd, and Mark di Suvero. 4. Barbara Rose, “ABC Art,” Art in America, October-November 1965, p. 63. 3
Cathedral Evening, (Monumental) 1971, Painted aluminum 118 x 354 x 283 inches Edition of 3 As shown during the exhibition Ronald Bladen Sculpture: Works from the Marzona Collection, Nationalgalerie Staatliche Museen, Berlin, 2007 4
Black Tower, (Model) 1986, Painted wood 331/2 x 40 x 27 inches Edition 1 of 3 6
Raiko, (Model) 1973, Painted wood 201/2 x 54 x 8 inches Edition 2 of 3
Light Year, (Garden) 1979, Painted aluminum 80 x 156 x 19 inches Edition of 3
SELECTED PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS
1956 Paintings by Ronald Bladen, Fine
occasion of the exhibition
Columbia, Vancouver, BC
of American Art, New York, NY
Francisco, CA, traveling to Vancouver
RONALD BLADEN
Art Museum, Vancouver, BC
Sculpture of the 1960s & 1970s
New York, NY
1969 14 Sculptors: The Industrial Edge, The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
and British Sculptors, The Jewish Museum, New York, NY
Hempstead, NY
Carolina, Greensboro, NC, traveling to Sculpture Center, New York, NY
Beat Culture and the New America:
New York, NY 10065 212-570-2362
American Art, Whitney Museum of
traveling to: The Walker Art Center,
gallery@jacobsonhoward.com
American Art, New York, NY
Minneapolis, MN; MH deYoung
Art in Space: Some Turning Points, The
Memorial Museum, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Student Center, New York University,
Bauhaus on American Art, Lowe Art
1996 The San Francisco School of Abstract
New York, NY
Museum, University of Miami, Coral
Expressionism, Laguna Art Museum,
Gables, FL, traveling to the New York
Los Angeles, CA, traveling to San
Cultural Center, New York, NY
Francisco Museum of Modern Art,
Angeles, CA, traveling to Philadelphia
1975 The Martha Jackson Collection at the
Museum of Art, Philadelphia PA
Structural Art, American Federation of
Rejective Art, University of Omaha,
Art, New York, NY, traveling
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, AlbrightKnox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY 1976 200 Years of American Sculpture, Whitney Museum of American Art,
Fine Arts Festival, Omaha, NE Guggenheim International Exhibition,
New York, NY
1999 Ronald Bladen: Selected Works, PS1/ MoMA Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY
of America 1876-1976, Hirshhorn
Paik and Ronald Bladen, RWE-Turm,
The Solomon R Guggenheim
Museum and Sculpture Garden,
Museum, New York, NY
Washington, DC
Barnett Newman, Tony Smith, The Corcoran Gallery of Art,
Akron Art Institute, Akron, OH 1979 The Minimal Tradition, Aldrich
Washington DC
Museum of Contemporary Art,
1968 documenta 4, Kassel, Germany Minimal Art (Andre, Bladen,
Ridgefield, CT
Contemporary Sculpture: Selections
Flavin, Grosvenor, Judd, LeWitt,
from the Museum of Modern Art,
Morris, Smith, Smithson, Steiner)
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Gmeentemuseum, The Hague, The
1986 Sculpture on the Wall, The Aldrich
Netherlands, traveling to: Städtische
Museum of Contemporary Art,
Kunsthalle und Kunstverein für
Ridgefield, CT
die Rheinlande und Westfalen,
Catalogue designed by ADT
Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
1967: Sculpture from Twenty Nations,
1977 Project: New Urban Monuments,
Center, Minneapolis, MN, 1969 page 9: photo by Ellen Page Wilson
San Francisco, CA
2000 „Kontrapunkt“, Werke von Nam June
1967-68 Scale as Content: Ronald Bladen,
page 1: Ronald Bladen at The Walker
1998 Ronald Bladen Sculpture, Kunsthalle
The Golden Door: Artist-Immigrants
33 East 68th Street
of American Art, New York, NY,
1974 Less is More: The Influence of the
American Sculpture of the Sixties, Los
Jacobson Howard Gallery
1950–1965, Whitney Museum
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Angeles County Museum of Art, Los
October 16 to November 26, 2008
of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
1973 Biennial Exhibition: Contemporary
1967 Ronald Bladen: Sculpture, Emily
Bladen, Grosvenor, von Schlegell, Loeb
Art Gallery, The University of North
Wisconsin, Madison, WI
American Art, New York, NY Lowe Gallery, Hofstra University,
Working Models & Related Drawings
Memorial Art Gallery, The University
Elvehjem Art Center, University of
Contemporary American Sculpture
Monumental & Garden Outdoor Sculpture
Sculptural Models, Weatherspoon
1972 Ronald Bladen and Allan d’Arcangelo,
1966-67 Annual Exhibition 1966, and Prints, Whitney Museum of
1995 Ronald Bladen: Drawings and
1970 American Sculpture, Sheldon
1966 Primary Structures. Younger American
This catalogue published on the
Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San
Center, New York University,
1991 Ronald Bladen: Early and Late, San
American Sculpture, Whitney Museum
1965 Concrete Expressionism, Loeb Student
Annual Exhibition 1968, Contemporary
Art Gallery, University of British
Essen, Germany 2004 A Minimal Future? Art as Object. 1958-1968, The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 2007 Ronald Bladen-Skulptur. Werke der Sammlung Marzona, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
front cover: X, (Monumental) 1967–1968, Painted aluminum, 264 x 288 x 168 inches, Edition of 3. As shown during the exhibition Scale as Content at The Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1967. Corcoran Gallery of Art Archives.
Düsseldorf; Akademie der Künste, Berlin
8
back cover: Ronald Bladen beside museum staff during the construction of X, 1967. Scale as Content, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC, 1967.
Host of the Ellipse, (Monumental) 1981, Painted aluminum Edition of 3 420 x 756 x 96 inches Baltimore