Basic Maintenance

Basic Maintenance

1987
Artist
Richard Serra, American, 1938-
Born: San Francisco, CA
Work Locations: New York, Nova Scotia
Country
United States
Object
sculpture
Medium
Hot rolled steel
Accession Number
1998.36A-B
Credit Line
Funds from 1998 Alliance for Contemporary Art Auction and the following donors by exchange: ARCO, American Art Foundation, Noël and Thomas Congdon, Lois Frumess, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Gary, Albert A. List Foundation, Inc., Vera List, National Endowment for the Arts Purchase Grant, Dr. and Mrs. Bruce J. Sailor, and Mr. and Mrs. William White; in honor of Nancy B. Tieken

Richard Serra 
Basic Maintenance, 1987
Hot rolled steel
Funds from 1998 Alliance for Contemporary Art Auction and the following donors by exchange: ARCO, American Art Foundation, Noël and Thomas Congdon, Lois Frumess, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Gary, Albert A. List Foundation, Inc., Vera List, National Endowment for the Arts Purchase Grant, Dr. and Mrs. Bruce J. Sailor, and Mr. and Mrs. William White; in honor of Nancy B. Tieken, 1998.36A-B

Dimensions
height: 146 in, 370.8400 cm; width: 157 1/2 in, 400.0500 cm
Department
Modern and Contemporary Art
Collection
Modern and Contemporary Art
This object is currently on view
Like a ballet dancer, this sculpture balances on a tiny point. No bolts secure it; no welding holds it together. It is 6,000 pounds of steel, and it is merely propped against the wall. Richard Serra is interested in the effects created by this massive and seemingly perilous arrangement. “There’s an intangible quality to a gravitational field,” he says. “The only way to understand . . . is to experience the place physically.”
Exhibition History
  • "Retrospectacle: 25 Years of Collecting Modern and Contemporary Art"--Denver Art Museum, 11/16/2002 - 8/3/2003
  • "Focus: The Figure"--Denver Art Museum, 8/9/2008 - 2/2011

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