By arranging massive, straightforward configurations of vertical slabs and forms in the ground, Serra—dubbed the “poet of iron”—is recognized for having reinvented sculpture.
People can stroll around and between his ominous and slanting metal panels, frequently on a road or in a natural setting.
His rusting artwork can be found in Berlin, New York, and London, among other places.
Entering his sculptures may cause viewers to experience anything from physical oppression to inner serenity.
“They can occasionally cause vertigo. However, they’re also incredibly freeing, “art critic Sebastian Smee of the Washington Post said.
Born in San Francisco, Serra grew up witnessing the enormous steel forms of the shipbuilding hulls at his father’s workplace.
Serra himself intended to be a painter, but he had to work in a steel mill to support his studies in fine art at Yale.
When he realized that it was more intriguing to include the audience in the artwork itself, he turned to sculpting.
