Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
American, 1939-1995
A sculptor of animals and American Indian shamanistic objects, filmmaker, and painter, Nancy Graves had a highly successful and varied career, primarily in New York City. In her abstract work, she united her interest in anthropology, totemic objects, cartography, and biomorphic shapes. She was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and became a graduate of Vassar College in 1961 and then Yale University's School of Art and Architecture. Graves won a Fulbright-Hayes Fellowship for painting, allowing her to spend a year in Paris in 1964-65. In the next few years, she traveled in North Africa and the Near East and lived and worked in Florence, Italy where she did her first signature work, which was sculptures of life-size Bactrian camels.
In 1966, she moved to New York City and further experimented with ways to produced these sculptures by building wood and steel armatures, covering them with skins of animal embryos, stuffing the skins with polyurethane to form humps, and tinting the skins with oil paints.
In 1968, she had her first New York one-woman show at the Graham Gallery followed by her second one-woman show at the Whitney Museum in 1969. Both exhibitions featured her camels.
In 1972 at the Philadelphia Institute of Contemporary Art, she made sculpture suggestive of Indian objects such as bones, skins, and feathers and added also steel rods to this motif for other exhibitions.
As a filmmaker, she has had showings in film festivals in London, New York, and Boston.
Source: Charlotte Rubinstein, "American Women Artists"to
1
1
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
14
198
119
93
84
2
Artist: Nancy Graves
Famed sculptor Nancy Graves unique signed patinated bronze sculpture NY Award
By Nancy Graves
Located in New York, NY
Nancy Graves
New York State Governor's Arts Award, 1988
Bronze, polychrome patina and baked enamel on base with Award plaque
10 1/4 × 7 × 10 1/4 inches
Hand signed and dated with inc...
Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Enamel, Bronze
$19,600 Sale Price
30% Off
Rope Trap /// Abstract Expressionist Female Nancy Graves Huge Metal Sculpture NY
By Nancy Graves
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Nancy Graves (American, 1939-1995)
Title: "Rope Trap"
*Titled, signed, and dated by Graves (inscribed into the metal) on red cylinder lower right
Year: 1985
Medium: Original ...
Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze, Metal
Related Items
Multifaceted Copper Enamel Tiles Abstract by N.G. Bloome
Located in Soquel, CA
Multifaceted Copper Enamel Tiles Abstract by N.G. Bloome
Enameled Copper panels "Picasso" esq by an unknown artist. N.G. Bloome (American, 20th C).
Uniq...
Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Copper, Enamel, Wire
$850
H 32 in W 18 in D 2 in
Light – Contemporary Surrealist Lunar Relief with Acrylic and Clay on Wood
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Light (Leggero) is a mixed media wall sculpture by Vera Vizzi combining modeling clay and acrylic paint on a circular fir wood support. This 30 cm Ø piece presents a textured lunar r...
Category
2010s Abstract Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Enamel
$1,069
H 0.79 in Dm 11.82 in
"The Playful Journey" Acrylic on Copper Abstract Composition 1997
By Stephen Schulz
Located in Soquel, CA
Bold and dynamic abstract composition titled "The Playful Journey" by Stephen Schulz (American, b. 1948). Schulz has used various types of acrylic paint, mixed with silicon to create a variety of textures. Signed and dated "Schulz 97" on verso, with an inscription that reads "For Leo and his Beautiful Family". Wood support frame on verso.
Stephen Schulz (American, b. 1948) is an artist who has lived and worked in Fresno and Santa Cruz, California, and Cedar Grove, New Jersey. He has studied privately with Julie Connell, Jan Daniels, Michele Faia, Elle Fielder, Sal Pecoraro, Susan Stover, and Chris Volpe.
Artist’s Statement:
“My painting and artistic expression opens the doorway into an unconscious and creative world, where an uninhibited expression can take place, as one becomes immersed without the perception of time.
Painting and design started it. From the beginning the process of transforming materials into art has struck me as a magical alchemy and, over the years, that mysterious process has had its hold on me, leading me from hobby to art. The creative process fills me with a sense of wonder and has proven a most amenable vehicle for transforming inner vision to outer reality.
I paint from the inside out. Though I work quite deliberately, consciously employing both traditional and innovative techniques, my unconscious is the region of the most fertile of creative soil.
I love working with a full complement of colors but often find my design direction working within the narrow spectrum of black and white, shadow and light. Some of my early inspiration comes from the New York School and artists such as Franz Kline and Jackson Pollock. Their ideas and techniques have helped to free my mind to explore areas of the unconscious that aren’t restricted by the world of right and wrong, good and bad. The journey continues and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to explore this exquisite world of the creative process.”
Education:
University of Oklahoma: 1966-1967
Canada College, AA Degree: 1972-1974
University of California: 1974-1975
Exhibitions:
2014 - Studio show Fresno, CA
2010 - Dubai (UAI) Animal rights show; Gallery 10, Washington, DC
2008, 2009 - Jia Salon & Gallery, Fresno, CA
2007 - Studio Exhibition
2006 - Cabrillo College
2004 - Studio Exhibition
2000, 2001, 2002 - Rollf's Gallery, Fresno, CA
2000 - Studio show; Bridgeport Gallery, CT
1999 - Tercera Gallery, Los Gatos, CA; Matt Miller Design, SF, CA
1998 - Robin Hutchins Gallery, NJ; Teroera Gallery Los Gatos, CA; Verve Gallery Los Angeles, CA; Open Studio Aptos, CA; Brigitte Bohlem, Hamburg, Germany
1997 - Robin Hutchins Gallery, NJ; Teroera Gallery, Los Gatos, CA; Verve Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; The Pope Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA; Hanson Art Source, Tennessee
1996 - Robin Hutchins Gallery, NJ; Teroera Gallery Los Gatos, CA; Verve Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; The Pope Gallery Santa Cruz, CA; Hanson Art Source, Tennessee; Barlett Fine Arts, Pleasant, CA; Birchstone, Gallery, Wisconsin
1995 - Abrahamsen Design; Teroera Gallery Los Gatos, CA; Verve Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; The Pope Gallery Santa Cruz, CA; Hanson Art Source, Tennessee; Barlett Fine Arts, Pleasant, CA; Birchstone, Gallery, Wisconsin; l&I Gallery, NJ; Gillen Design, London Ontario Canada...
Category
1990s Abstract Expressionist Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Copper
$2,120 Sale Price
20% Off
H 24 in W 84 in D 1.5 in
THE SAME – Lunar Wall Relief with Celestial Views in Modeling Clay and Acrylic
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
THE SAME is a mixed media wall sculpture by Vera Vizzi that renders the lunar surface as both stage and symbol. Modeled in clay and acrylic on a 30 cm Ø fir wood disc, the piece pres...
Category
2010s Abstract Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Enamel
$1,069
H 0.79 in Dm 11.82 in
Phase – Contemporary Wall Sculpture on Wood with Lunar Texture and Color Accents
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Phase is a contemporary wall sculpture by Vera Vizzi that merges cosmic topography with symbolic intervention. Executed in modeling clay and acrylic on a circular fir wood base (30 c...
Category
2010s Abstract Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Enamel
$801 Sale Price
25% Off
H 0.79 in Dm 11.82 in
Stacked Cube Votive Sculpture (Multicolored), 2020
By Dena Paige Fischer
Located in Jersey City, NJ
Concrete, paint, oil pastel and polyurethane
Hand-signed by artist
Frame: Not included
This work includes a certificate of authenticity.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Geometric Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Concrete
Clown Cat - Limited Edition Sculpture 9/10
By Karel Appel
Located in AMSTERDAM, NL
Discover the Essence of Joy: Karel Appel's "Clown Cat" 9/10 Limited Edition Sculpture in Acrylic on wood.
Crafted from the finest wood, its playful contours and vibrant hues captiva...
Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Wood, Acrylic
$15,203 Sale Price
20% Off
H 24.41 in W 32.68 in D 5.91 in
Stirring Within Dark Gary Abstract Metal Wall Sculpture
By Zammy Migdal
Located in Miami, FL
From the newest original works by Zammy Migdal, these wall objects hang as sculpture on the wall, each one unique, forming its own fluid story. This dark gray work is from a series ...
Category
2010s Abstract Geometric Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal
$4,400 Sale Price
36% Off
H 18 in W 19 in D 11 in
SUNSET – Mixed Media Wall Sculpture in Pastel Sky Blue and Neon Yellow, 2022
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
SUNSET is a summer-inspired wall sculpture by Vera Vizzi that fuses foam clay, acrylic paint and enamel on a 45 × 45 × 7 cm fir wood panel. The composition depicts an aerial tennis c...
Category
2010s Abstract Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Enamel
$1,306
H 17.72 in W 17.72 in D 2.76 in
Blue and White Cube Votive Sculpture, 2020
By Dena Paige Fischer
Located in Jersey City, NJ
Cast concrete, paint and polyurethane
Hand-signed by artist
Frame: Not included
This work includes a certificate of authenticity.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Geometric Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Concrete
Layered Cube Votive Sculpture, pink, grey, black concrete votive candle holder
By Dena Paige Fischer
Located in Jersey City, NJ
Biomorphic yet industrial style to Dena Paige Fischer's sculptural votive candle holder. The stacked cubes are painted and smooth, piled upon one another into a column, or as the artist calls it, a totem. The pastel pigmented concrete in peach and lavender looks almost soft. This sculptural votive candle holder is a functional and decorative tabletop art...
Category
2010s Abstract Geometric Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Concrete
$225
H 6.5 in W 3 in D 3 in
Layered Cube Votive Sculpture (sky), pastel, geometric, earthy, candle holder
By Dena Paige Fischer
Located in Jersey City, NJ
Biomorphic yet industrial style to Dena Paige Fischer's sculptural votive candle holder. The stacked cubes are painted and smooth one with a natural cleave, piled upon one another into a column, or as the artist calls it, a totem. The pastel painted plaster in lavender and pale yellow looks almost soft. The piece is smooth and the bold navy blue and taupe paint embellish the abstract geometric design. This sculptural votive candle holder is a functional and decorative tabletop art...
Category
2010s Abstract Geometric Nancy Graves Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Plaster, Paint, Polyurethane
Nancy Graves abstract sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Nancy Graves abstract sculptures available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Nancy Graves in bronze, metal, paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1980s and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Nancy Graves abstract sculptures, so small editions measuring 7 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Peter Voulkos, Gino Miles, and Varujan Boghosian. Nancy Graves abstract sculptures prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $18,000 and tops out at $120,000, while the average work can sell for $69,000.