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Richard Pitts Art

American, b. 1940
Richard Pitts was born in 1940 into a military family at Fort Monmouth, NJ. After high school he met his first art mentor, the well known sculptor, Ruben Kadish at the Newark College of Fine and Industrial Arts. He moved to New York and after a tour in Europe with the US Army, he graduated Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. He began exhibiting his art works in 1969. He was invited as artist in residence to teach at the Kansas City Art Institute from 1970 to 1973. Returning to his studio in Chelsea NY he had numerous one person shows. He taught in the Fine Arts Department at The Fashion Institute of Technology where he retired as a full professor. He now divides his time between his NY studio and his studio in rural Pennsylvania. Richard is represented in major museum and private collections across the country. A sculptor and painter, Richard Pitts works in many media, including steel, wood, bronze, and aluminum. His pieces are rife with energy and captured motion. Each seethes with potential and seems primed to spring to life at any time. Much like Abstract Expressionism, in Pitts' sculptures, movement replaces any suggestion of visual illusion, building upon his effort to physically abstract the notion of atmosphere or ambiance into a static, three-dimensional form. In 2001 Pitts began breaking down the painted figure into a series of panels that fit together in a puzzle-like fashion. This gradual separation of colors appeared five years later in a series of tall totem structures that reflected a variety of juxtaposing colors, patterns and textures, which were separated by a thick, undulating black line, echoing the construct of stained-glass windows. However in giving shape to a series of metaphysical characteristics that are rarely captured within figurative painting, Pitts has moved the idea of sculpture away from its multi-layered, object-based history and toward one’s personal mythology. His work explores the various metaphors inherent to the natural environment, suggesting that art is not only bridged with life but is also a product of it. In creating this new series of free-standing, abstract sculptures the artist lends form to the notion of placeless-ness, rendering a series of aesthetic intersections where personal narratives commune with the visual. Intended for both interior and exterior sites, Richard Pitts’ newest selection of colorful, metallic objects free up the art experience even further by utilizing the tenets of formalism to touch upon a deeper sense of “being” in the world. Pitts has expanded into the third-dimension by forging the drawn line into a single, hand-held object. Extending this idea onto a series of surfaces that echoes the thick, black line seen in his earlier work, the artist compiles a series of randomly tailored surfaces that connect with one another to represent either frosty, wall-hung, starburst shapes or tall, wing-like forms. His new sculptures are complex in that they symbolize time or, more simply, the thought or feeling of a particular moment.
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"Windy Ribbon" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in Red
"Windy Ribbon" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in Red

"Windy Ribbon" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in Red

By Richard Pitts

Located in New York, NY

"Windy Ribbon" by Richard Pitts Powder-coated aluminum Richard Pitts works in many media, from steel to wood to bronze to aluminum, not to mention his paintings. His often colorful,...

Category

2010s Abstract Richard Pitts Art

Materials

Metal

"Back from the Yellow Brick Road" Large-Scale, Abstract Metal Sculpture, Yellow
"Back from the Yellow Brick Road" Large-Scale, Abstract Metal Sculpture, Yellow

"Back from the Yellow Brick Road" Large-Scale, Abstract Metal Sculpture, Yellow

By Richard Pitts

Located in New York, NY

"Back from the Yellow Brick Road" by Richard Pitts Powder-coated aluminum Richard Pitts works in many media, from steel to wood to bronze to aluminum, not to mention his paintings. ...

Category

2010s Abstract Richard Pitts Art

Materials

Metal

"True Blue" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in Blue
"True Blue" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in Blue

"True Blue" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in Blue

By Richard Pitts

Located in New York, NY

"True Blue" by Richard Pitts Powder-coated aluminum on a brushed aluminum base (height includes base) Richard Pitts works in many media, from steel to wood to bronze to aluminum, no...

Category

2010s Abstract Richard Pitts Art

Materials

Metal

"Gershwin" Large-Scale, Abstract Metal Sculpture in Brushed Aluminum
"Gershwin" Large-Scale, Abstract Metal Sculpture in Brushed Aluminum

"Gershwin" Large-Scale, Abstract Metal Sculpture in Brushed Aluminum

By Richard Pitts

Located in New York, NY

"Gershwin" by Richard Pitts Brushed aluminum Richard Pitts works in many media, from steel to wood to bronze to aluminum, not to mention his paintings. His often colorful, abstract ...

Category

2010s Abstract Richard Pitts Art

Materials

Metal

"Dahlia" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in Yellow
"Dahlia" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in Yellow

"Dahlia" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in Yellow

By Richard Pitts

Located in New York, NY

"Dahlia" by Richard Pitts Powder-coated aluminum on a brushed aluminum base (height includes base) Richard Pitts works in many media, from steel to wood to bronze to aluminum, not t...

Category

2010s Abstract Richard Pitts Art

Materials

Metal

"Pages" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in White
"Pages" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in White

"Pages" Large-Scale, Abstract Aluminum Metal Sculpture in White

By Richard Pitts

Located in New York, NY

"Pages" by Richard Pitts Powder-coated aluminum Richard Pitts works in many media, from steel to wood to bronze to aluminum, not to mention his paintings. His often colorful, abstra...

Category

2010s Abstract Richard Pitts Art

Materials

Metal

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Previously Available Items
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Richard Pitts art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Richard Pitts art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Richard Pitts in metal, powder coating, paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Richard Pitts art, so small editions measuring 30 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Ellen Brenner-Sorensen, Ibram Lassaw, and Justin Peyser. Richard Pitts art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $26,000 and tops out at $36,000, while the average work can sell for $28,000.

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