Running Nymph 1931

Reuben Nakian coaxed this bronze nymph into being, shaping her mid-motion, and pausing her, like a frame from a film. What’s so cool about sculpture is how it occupies space. It’s like, what if you could materialize your thoughts? I imagine Nakian wrestling with the clay, pushing and pulling, finding the pose through touch, like a dance. Then comes the lost wax process of bronze casting – a kind of alchemy. The figure's surface texture has a life of its own. And the color! That deep, earthy brown – it makes you think of ancient things. The way she stretches out with a looping arm, she's almost flying. You see the influence of sculptors like Rodin, but Nakian’s doing his own thing, pushing the boundaries of form. It reminds me that art-making is a conversation across time. We try something, others respond, and the dialogue goes on. It embraces uncertainty and multiple meanings over fixed or definitive readings.