Terence Main is an American modernist sculptor who was born in 1954. He is best known for cast metal sculptural furniture that he has been making for more than 20 years, such as Fourth Frond Chair in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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Formative Years and Exhibitions
Terence Mainwas born in1954inIndianapolis, Indiana, USA and soon developed an interest invisual arts and sculpture. He studied at theHerron School of Art and Designreceiving his BA in1976and then at theCranbrook Academy of Artgraduating in 1978. His works are currently exhibited at theMoMA, Denver Art Museum, Brooklin Museum of Artand theMuseum of Fine Arts in Houstonamong the others.
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Redefining the Boundaries between Art and Design
Terence Main’s workredefines the boundaries between art and designand seems to exist within thegenerative and destructive cycles of nature. The biomorphic elements of his works recall the fossilized remains ofancient creaturesandvegetation. Overall, they often have the look and feel of natural phenomena rather than crafted objects. Looking outside the boundaries of classicism, Main responds to the rich material of primitive art with furniture thatintimates the power of animist beliefthroughout human culture. One of his sinuous benches suggests a forgotten path or the spine of an extinct animal; the ambiguity of its place in the natural order augmenting the sense ofdesuetudeand revealingthe patterns in which this natural order is manifested.
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The White Bronze Table and Chair
Filled with dark and light, thecast white bronze table and chairbyTerence Mainfits perfectly into the sculptor’s production. The forms areanthropomorphic, bold,andspecificand Main’s iconography, intensely personal yet profoundly universal, grows to encompass that same strength of form, ultimately fulfilling Louis Sullivan’s ideal of ornament and structure.
Main’s work, in this piece as in the entirety of his production, seems toexist within the generative and destructive cycles of nature. The idea of redrawing on the pattern remains in this bronze table and chair. Thelingering iconic drawingswere firstcarvedin and then carved out with the intention to be drawn in by light flickering off theshiny textureas opposed to the signs and symbols.
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