Untitled c. 1971 - 1977

This large sculpture by James Rosati is made of steel. The way these modular geometric shapes pile on top of each other is so interesting to me. What might he have been thinking? How did he even start making it? I imagine Rosati in his studio, surrounded by smaller models, maybe made of cardboard or wood, trying out different arrangements. There must have been so many attempts to resolve the sculpture into the form that we see before us. You can see how one form crashes into the next. He’s playing with the balance, and imbalance, of forms— it's really dynamic. It’s kind of cool how Rosati is in conversation with the minimalist sculptors like Sol LeWitt and Donald Judd, but he’s doing his own thing. Like, he's embracing a kind of precariousness that they might have avoided. These artists continue to inspire one another’s creativity. And it reminds me that art is an ongoing exchange of ideas across time.