"Mahogany Whispers Ancient Tales" geometric sculpture

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About the Item

Three stylized octahedrons -- which are crafted out of mahogany wood and can be manually rotated -- stand vertically on a wooden base between four mahogany cubes. The cubes are connected to one another with the support of three black powder-coated metal arcs fastened at the corners of each cube. The sculpture’s kinetic feature is observed when the three octahedrons 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:
2023
Dimensions:
Height: 47 in (119.38 cm)Width: 13 in (33.02 cm)Depth: 13 in (33.02 cm)
Medium:
Metal,Powder Coating,Mahogany
Movement & Style:
Abstract Geometric
Period:
2010-
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Glen Ellen, CA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU71215133162

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