Aaronel deRoy Gruber (American/Pennsylvania)

Lot description

Aaronel deRoy Gruber (American/Pennsylvania, 1918-2011), "Untitled: Tower in Pink, Orange, Blue and Gray", Plexiglas, unsigned, h. 74 in., w. 23 in., d. 23 1/2 in., black Plexiglas base, overall h. 86 1/4 in. Provenance: Collection of Michael Brown and Linda Green, New Orleans. Note: Originally a painter, Aaronel deRoy Gruber began by creating vast paintings then trying her hand at three-dimensions by manipulating her canvases to jut outward into sculptural reliefs. Upon her introduction to sculptor David Smith in 1961, Gruber found herself charmed by the possibility of forging works from steel discords. The fascination with sculpture would later translate to her Plexiglas pieces, a medium the artist enjoyed, “I like its transparency, the overlapping of colors forming other colors and the effect of contained light within.” The play with color and light is showcased in the lot offered here, a monumental tower containing layers of multicolor Plexiglas visible from the outside. As she described her work, “I interplay convex and concave forms to create a feeling of balancing on the edge of a precipice, like an odd-shaped sphere stopped in action and made to balance in a moment in time.” Ref.: “About Aaronel deRoy Gruber.” Aaronel deRoy Gruber. www.aarnel.com. Accessed July 26, 2017.