Penumbra $12k retail, W/Stand hand Signed Lucite Female Sculpture Modern Art

Artist: Frederick Hart
Title: Penumbra
Medium: Lucite
Year: 1989
Size: 21" x 15"; Illuminated Pedestal Size: 20 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 10 1/2"
Edition: 48/350
Condition: Great condition with minor wear to the base

Frederik Hart's wisely named "Penumbra" sculpture perfectly conveys the complexity of the work, shrouded in both literal and figurative mystery. Through a masterful eye for detail and flawless technical execution, Hart manipulates the interplay of shadow of light to further enshroud the face of the lady Madonna. The shadows combine with the physical veil reveal and conceal differently depending on the angle from which it's viewed. Hart often uses themes of spirituality and inner beauty in his sculptures, and "Penumbra" is no exception. Hart's signature lucite medium helps imbue the sculpture with a light, ethereal quality that heighten's its spiritual nature. Frederik Hart's "Penumbra" sculpture is signed, dated, and numbered on the bottom and comes with a certificate of authenticity from Modern Artifact.

As one of America’s greatest representational artists, Frederick Hart left a lasting and unique mark in the world of modern sculpture. Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1943, he studied at the University of South Carolina and after protesting alongside black students during the Civil rights movement, he moved to Washington D.C. to continue his studies at the Corcoran School of Art. Fascinated with the human figure and the classical approach, he started developing his career in 1966 as a stone carver apprentice at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. Leaving the Cathedral in 1971, Hart started his own studio practice but had little success in the first years. In 1974, he was awarded the project by the Cathedral to create a contemporary interpretation of The Creation, an event that would change his life. Soon, Hart’s career took a turn for the better and in the upcoming decades, he rose to national prominence, becoming a government art advisor in 1985 and receiving the prestigious Henry Hering Award from the National Sculpture Society in 1987.

Best known for his architectural public sculpture work, Frederick Hart remained loyal to the figurative art, speaking very critically of abstract and similar art movements. He was the voice of moral responsibility among artists and the propagator of the classical aesthetic notions in art, representing the group of like-minded artists called “The Centerists”. "My work isn't art for art's sake, it's about life. I have no patience with obscure or unintelligible art - I want to be understood," he used to say, alluding to the higher aspirations and clear message his art delivered. Frederick Hart’s works are celebrated for their beauty and flawless execution, always in movement, layered with emotion, often depicting a form of religious trance or heightened state of awareness. With strong religious undertones, they can be seen as universal allegories, so rare, yet necessary in contemporary life and art.

Despite his traditional views on the artistic substance, Hart was a pioneer in the use of transparent acrylic resin in the creation of figurative sculptures. He patented a process of embedding one sculpture inside another, an innovative method that was not characteristic for religious (or other) sculpture until that time.

Hart died on August 13, 1999, in Baltimore, Maryland.