1 of 4

John Whitehead
"Cubi Libre" abstract geometric sculpture
2024

$36,000List Price

About the Item

Stainless steel and aluminum with illusion cherry powder-coat. Dimensions include the base. In this exquisite sculpture, suitable for both indoor and outdoor placement, John Whitehead gives another nod to the great Abstract Expressionist sculptor David Smith, who has inspired much of his work. Smith coined the word "Cubi" for his famous series of stainless-steel sculptures made between 1961 and 1965, shortly before his death. Here, four cherry red cubes are suspended among four half-cylindrical holes in the sculpture’s vertical frame. The sculpture’s repeated patterns and negative spaces form a continuous zigzag, triangular frame with a textured, random swirl finish and mirror polished edges. Each side of the sculpture’s four cubes is inscribed with grooves forming 3 X 3 grids with nine cylindrical holes. The sculpture’s kinetic feature is observed when the four cubes are touched by hand. John Whitehead was born in Demerara, Guyana. He came to the United States at age five and grew up in various inner-city neighborhoods on the west side of Oakland, California. Whitehead’s formal training in art began at Hoover Middle School in West Oakland, but he didn’t feel seriously challenged by his art classes there. At McClymonds High School in West Oakland, he was most fortunate to have Richard Davies as a dedicated and extraordinarily talented art teacher. Under his astute tutelage, John was exposed to a whole new approach to art, which emphasized geometric abstraction, constructivist art, and abstract expressionist sculpture. Whitehead pursued his post-secondary education first at U,C, Berkeley, where he obtained his B.A. in economics with a minor in art, and then at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he received his M.A. in economics. During his professional career teaching university level economics and statistics, he continued to develop his keen interest in and passion for contemporary art, and more specifically sculpture. These were formative years for the artist. From 2010 to 2020, Whitehead’s body of work mainly consisted of mirror-polished stainless steel and aluminum sculpture balancing varying geometric shapes, patterning curves, and negative spaces. The design, boundaries, and perceived movements of many of these pieces were influenced by David Smith’s “Cubi” series, Fletcher Benson’s “Folded-Circle” series, and George Rickey’s “Cluster of Cubes” sculpture, and other works in the abstract expressionist and constructivist traditions. As a result, these sculptures reflect a high level of geometric abstraction and often contain objects that are perched precariously atop each other, appearing to defy gravity and/or displaying a balance/imbalance dynamic. Recently, Whitehead has been broadening his sculptural work to include the geometric aspects of his past works combined with a variety of contemporary African diasporic and cubist artistic paradigms. John Whitehead is one of only a few African American geometric abstract sculptors currently working in the U.S.

Creator:
John Whitehead (Guyanese, American)
Creation Year:
2024
Dimensions:
Height: 81 in (205.74 cm)Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)Depth: 16 in (40.64 cm)
Medium:
Stainless Steel,Powder Coating,Metal
Movement & Style:
Abstract Geometric
Period:
2010-
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Glen Ellen, CA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU71215057902

2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

John Poché
Black Boxes #3, 2022

Price Upon Request

H 35 in W 24 in D 24 in

Half Circles in Yellow

Located in New Orleans, LA

John Poché creates polished aluminum and stainless-steel kinetic sculptures. His works range in scale from small indoor tabletop works to large-scale outdoor sculptures triggered exc...

Category

2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

John Poché
Half Circles in Yellow, 2022

Price Upon Request

H 28 in W 19 in D 19 in

Black Boxes #1

Located in New Orleans, LA

John Poché creates polished aluminum and stainless-steel kinetic sculptures. His works range in scale from small indoor tabletop works to large-scale outdoor sculptures triggered exc...

Category

2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

John Poché
Black Boxes #1, 2022

Price Upon Request

H 35 in W 34 in D 34 in

Green 16 Leaf Tree

Located in New Orleans, LA

John Poché creates polished aluminum and stainless-steel kinetic sculptures. His works range in scale from small indoor tabletop works to large-scale outdoor sculptures triggered exc...

Category

2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

John Poché
Green 16 Leaf Tree, 2022

Price Upon Request

H 96 in W 72 in D 72 in

Uneven Arcs White

Located in New Orleans, LA

John Poché creates polished aluminum and stainless-steel kinetic sculptures. His works range in scale from small indoor tabletop works to large-scale outdoor sculptures triggered exc...

Category

2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

John Poché
Uneven Arcs White, 2022

Price Upon Request

H 101 in W 71 in D 18 in

Half Circles in Blue

Located in New Orleans, LA

John Poché creates polished aluminum and stainless-steel kinetic sculptures. His works range in scale from small indoor tabletop works to large-scale outdoor sculptures triggered exc...

Category

2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

John Poché
Half Circles in Blue, 2022

Price Upon Request

H 28 in W 19 in D 19 in

John Van Alstine - Hula V, Sculpture 2017

By John Van Alstine

Located in Stamford, CT

Hula V, John Van Alstine. Stone and metal, usually granite or slate and found object steel are central in my sculpture. The interaction of these materials is a major focus. On the mo...

Category

2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Slate, Steel

John Van Alstine
John Van Alstine - Hula V, Sculpture 2017, 2017

$18,500

H 53 in W 24 in D 10 in

John Van Alstine - Stormwarning V (Red Rain 3.14), Sculpture 2015

By John Van Alstine

Located in Stamford, CT

Stone and metal,usually granite or slate and found object steel are central in my sculpture. The interaction of these materials is a major focus. On the most basic level the work is ...

Category

2010s Abstract Geometric Sculptures

Materials

Slate, Steel

John Van Alstine
John Van Alstine - Stormwarning V (Red Rain 3.14), Sculpture 2015, 2015

$18,500

H 23 in W 41 in D 6 in

Mirror Mirror - geometric abstract, powder coated outdoor steel sculpture

By Ryan Van Der Hout

Located in Bloomfield, ON

A multitude of polished mirrors shine as light bounces off them, reflecting the landscape and you. This is Ryan Van Der Hout’s elegant contemporary sculpture called Mirror Mirror. In...

Category

2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel

Ryan Van Der Hout
Mirror Mirror - geometric abstract, powder coated outdoor steel sculpture, 2022

$21,300

H 93 in W 78 in D 22 in

Looking - tall, geometric abstract, powder coated outdoor steel sculpture

By Ryan Van Der Hout

Located in Bloomfield, ON

In this intriguing sculpture by Ryan Van Der Hout, a multitude of mirrors reflect the images of sky and land that surround it. Forged from powder-coated steel, each lens is mounted o...

Category