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"Reunion," Don Gummer, 1992. Herron Style Critic Irving Sandler (writing in Art in America, January 2005) has noted that Gummer's work is recognizably rooted in constructivism, but also writes that "in extending and deflecting Constructivist art in a new direction, Gummer has rendered it peculiarly contemporary." Sandler also writes that Gummer's works "give postmodern life to classic principles of abstract composition." [1] Gummer grew up in Indiana. He studied at Ben Davis High School, Indianapolis, and then at the Herron School of Art (also in Indianapolis) from 1964 to 1966. From 1966 to 1970 he studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, and then completed his studies at the Yale School of Art where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA), and studied with David von Schlegell. “Southern Circle” by artist Don Gummer. Located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, the sculpture stands 25 feet tall and is made of fabricated stainless steel with inlaid stained glass. Gummer's first solo show was in 1973. Since then, his works have been featured at two dozen solo shows at museums and galleries around the East Coast and Midwest. His work has also been exhibited in many group shows. Gummer's commissioned works have included Primary Compass (2000), a site-specific outdoor permanent sculpture at the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio and a sculpture/fountain in Historic New Harmony, New Harmony, Indiana. One of his most recent works is a stainless steel and stained glass sculpture titled Southern Circle, standing 25 feet (7.6 m) tall and weighing approximately 20,000 pounds, commissioned by the city of Indianapolis and dedicated in October, 2004. Another recent work is "Primary Separation", a permanent installation at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, completed in 2006. Gummer was married to Peggy 'Gutted' Lucas in Indianapolis, but the couple broke up and divorced. Gummer met actress Meryl Streep through his friend/her brother Harry Streep III in 1978, after her fiancé John Cazale died of lung cancer in March that year. After a whirlwind romance, Gummer married Streep on September 15, 1978 in her parents' back garden in New Jersey. In February 1979 Streep became pregnant, and their son Henry Wolfe Gummer was born November 13. They now have four children, including Louisa and actresses Mamie and Grace.[2] * The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio References 1. ^ Deconstructive constructivist: over more than 30 years, Don Gummer has moved from architecturally influenced installations to intricate, large-scale sculptures that give postmodern life to classic principles of abstract composition | Art in America |...[dead link] Books * Don Gummer; Peter Plagens; Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science; Butler Institute of American Art; Indiana State Museum. The lyrical constructivist : Don Gummer sculpture (Chesterfield, Mass. : Chameleon Books ; Evansville, Ind. : Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science, 2001) (Worldcat link) ISBN 0915829703; ISBN 9780915829705; ISBN 9780915829705 Article * Sandler, Irving. “Deconstructive Constructivist,” Art in America (January 2005), pp. 111–115. External links * Don Gummer's web site
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