Deborah Butterfield Art

"Beacon" is a sculpture made of formed and welded steel by Deborah Butterfield in 2006. The dimensions of the piece are 45 1/2 x 54 x 13 1/2 inches. Deborah Butterfield was born the same day as the 75th running of the Kentucky Derby (May 7, 1949), which she in part credits as the inspiration for her consistent subject matter of horses. Her depictions of horses break from traditional means of representation (with riders, working, racing, or warhorses), as she gives each horse a personality and uniqueness through their lines and coloring. Butterfield trained under famed sculptor Manuel Neri. Her use of materials developed after she traveled to Israel in 1980 and began working with steel and other detritus of wars - materials that held deep emotional content. This exploration of materials set her on a course of creating sculptures with found and welded steel, fused aluminum, copper and wood - all of which are materials that have a history. Similarly to the mobiles of Alexander Calder and the steel cut-outs of Tom Wesselmann, Butterfield's sculptures can be described as three-dimensional drawings due to the heavy presence of her hand in the manipulation of materials. "Beacon" is an excellent example of Butterfield's use of found materials, in this case found and painted steel. The work is not cast like her bronze pieces, but instead welded by hand, giving the work a greater emotional value. Provenance: Zolla / Lieberman Gallery...

A patinated bronze sculpture of a horse representing found, bent and rotted wood and sticks by Deborah Butterfield. The artist grew up in San Diego in the 1950s and 60s, and frequ...

Bronze

Provenance: Commissioned from artist for private collection, MI Private collection, MI (acquired from above by descent)