Marco Polo "Mark" di Suvero is an American abstract expressionist sculptor born Marco Polo Levi in Shanghai, China in 1933 to Italian expatriates. He immigrated to San Francisco, California in 1942 with his family. From 1953 to 1957, he attended the University of California, Berkeley to study Philosophy. He later moved to New York City where he was surrounded by an explosion of Abstract Expressionism. While working in construction, he was critically injured in a freight elevator accident and focused all his attention on sculpture.
While in rehabilitation, he learned to work with an arc welder. His early works were large outdoor pieces that incorporated railroad ties, tires, scrap metal and structural steel. This exploration has transformed over time into a focus on I-beams and heavy gauge metal. Many of the pieces contain sections that are allowed to swing and rotate giving the overall forms a considerable degree of motion. He prides himself on his hands-on approach to the fabrication and installation of his work.
di Suvero was a founding member of the Park Place Gallery [1] and ConStruct, both artist-owned galleries, the former was the first SoHo Contemporary art gallery and the latter promoted and organized large-scale sculpture exhibitions throughout the United States. Other founding members include John Raymond Henry, Kenneth Snelson, Lyman Kipp and Charles Ginnever.
His distinctive, large bold pieces can be found all over the world. He continues to be the subject of multiple exhibitions and his commitment to emerging artists is undeniable through the Athena Foundation and the Socrates Sculpture Park. di Suvero has received the Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award from the International Sculpture Center and, in 2005, the 11th Annual Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities for his commitment to aspiring artists.
di Suvero currently lives in New York City with his second wife, New York City Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs Kate Levin, and daughter. He has three working studios, one in Long Island City, a former brickyard on the edge of the East River in Long Island and an open air fabrication facility in Petaluma California, where he lived from 1975 to 1988. The third studio is on a river barge in Chalon-sur-Saône, France, since 1972.
He most recently published a book, titled Dreambook, a compilation of sculptures, poems, and ideas. The vibrant colors in it are reflected in the bright colors he always wears.
Education/Distinctions
* 1933 Born Shanghai, China
* 1942 Immigrated to USA
* 1953-54 San Francisco City College
* 1954-55 University of California, Santa Barbara
* 1957 University of California, Berkeley, B.A. Philosophy
* 1977 Establishes Athena Foundation
* 1985 Establishes Socrates Sculpture Park
* 2000 International Sculpture Center Lifetime Achievement Award
* 2005 Heinz Award for Arts and Humanities
Sculptures in public collections and public spaces
United States
California
* Whale's Cry, 1987, Clos Pegase Winery, Calistoga
* Spud, 1967, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
* Teha, 1971, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
* Pre-Natal Memories, 1976, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
* Prison Dream, 1961, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
* Gandy Dancer's Dream, 1987–88, Getty Center, Los Angeles
* Shoshone, 1982, 444 S. Flower, Los Angeles
* Crochet, 1974, Gersh, Phillip & Beatrice, Los Angeles
* For Veronica, 1987, di Rosa Winery, Napa
* Homage to Charlie Parker, 1975, Oakland Museum, Oakland
* Ol' One Tooth, 1978, Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs
* Miwok, 1981, Center for Clinical Sciences at Stanford University, Palo Alto
* The Sieve of Eratosthenes, 1999, Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, Palo Alto
* Ferro, 1982, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco
* Isis, 1978, North Harbor Drive & Laurel Street, San Diego
* Pax Jerusalem, 1999, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco[2]
* Sea Change, 1978, South Beach Park, Pier 40, San Francisco
* Voxel 2000, 2000, Venice Beach
* Symbiosis, 1989, Runnymede Sculpture Farm, Woodside
* Yi!, 1983–86, Runnymede Sculpture Farm, Woodside
[edit] Colorado
* Lao Tzu, 1991, Denver Art Museum, Denver
* Sai Chen Lan 1992, Denver Art Museum, Denver
Connecticut
* Borealis, 1988, Greenwich Plaza, Greenwich
* Alpha, 1968, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven
District of Columbia
* Are Years What? (for Marianne Moore), 1967, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington
* Homage to Martin Luther King, 1968, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington
* The A Train, 1965, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington
* Aurora, 1993, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Florida
* Untitled, 1967, Federal Reserve Bank - Miami Branch, Miami
* Bojangles, 1966–67, Martin Z. Margulies Sculpture Park, Florida International University, Miami
* Untitled, 1977, Martin Z. Margulies Sculpture Park, Florida International University, Miami
* Gnarly, 2008, Fairchild Tropical Gardens, Miami
* Oolam-pali, 2008, Fairchild Tropical Gardens, Miami
Hawaii
* Gualala, 1977, Honolulu Academy of Arts
* Shadowdance, 1984, Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu
Illinois
* Choopy, 2007, Merchandise Mart, Chicago
* No Title for Sure, 1968, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
* Prairie Chimes, 1969, Governors State University, University Park
* Yes! For Lady Day, 1969, Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park, University Park
Indiana
* Helmholtz, 1985, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne
* Han, 1979, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne
* Keepers of the Fire, 1980, Century Center, South Bend
* Snowplow, 1968, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis
Iowa
* Shadowframe, 1973, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines
* T8, 1985, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines
* Untitled, 1971, University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City
Kentucky
* Untitled, 1972, University of Kentucky Art Museum, Lexington
* Pollock's Indians, 1976, Speed Art Museum, Louisville
Maine
* Untitled (Hand), 1959, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick
Maryland
* Under Sky/One Family, 1980, The City of Baltimore, Baltimore
* Sister Lu, 1979, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore
Massachusetts
* Aesop's Fables, II, 2005, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge
* NJT, 1960, List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge
* Huru, 1984, Arts on the Point Sculpture Park, Boston
* Sunflowers for Vincent, 1983, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln
* Untitled, 1972, Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton
* Nantucket
Michigan
* For Ben Webster, 2001, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids
* Scarlatti, 2000, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids
* For Mother Teresa, 1998, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills
* Motu Viget, 1977, Gerald R Ford Federal Building, Grand Rapids
* Pablo's Legacy, 1980, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
* Tom, 1959, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
* Orion, 2007, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor
Minnesota
* Gorky's Pillow, 1987, Franconia Sculpture Park, Franconia
* Inner Search, 1980, Norwest Operations Center, Minneapolis
* Arikidea, 1982, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
* Molecule, 1983, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
* Stuyvesant's Eye, 1965, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
Missouri
* Bornibus, 1973, Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis
* Destino, 2003, Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis
* Old Buddy (for Rosko), 1993–95, Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis
* Tumbleweed, 1985–87, Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis
* Praise for Elohim Adomnai, 1966, Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis
* Rumi, 1991, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
* Beppe, 1978–95, University of Missouri–St. Louis (on loan from Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis)
Nebraska
* Old Glory, 1986, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
New Hampshire
* X-Delta, 1970, Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, Hanover
* Origins, 2001–2004, Currier Museum of Art, Manchester
New York
* Caramba, 1994, Riggio, Leonard, Bridgehampton
* Jive, 1977, Pratt Institute Sculpture Park, Brooklyn
* Cubo Arcane, 1997, Museum of Modern Art, New York
* Exclamation, 1980–81, Museum of Modern Art, New York
* For Gonzalez, 1973, Museum of Modern Art, New York
* For Roebling, 1971, Museum of Modern Art, New York
* Ladderpiece, 1962, Museum of Modern Art, New York
* Hankchampion, 1960, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
* New York Dawn (for Lorca), 1965, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
* Joie de Vivre, 1998, Zuccotti Park, Manhattan
* Mon Père, Mon Père, 1975, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville
* Mother Peace, 1970, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville
* Mozart's Birthday, 1989, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville
* Pyramidian, 1998, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville
* Beethoven's Quartet, 2003, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville
* Chonk On, 2002, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville
* For Chris, 1991, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville
* Frogs Legs, 2002, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville
* Jambalaya, 2002–06, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville
* Mahatma, 1978–79, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville
* One O'Klock, 1968–69, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor
* Double Tetrahedron, 2004, Salem Art Works, Salem
* For Euler, 1997, Salem Art Works, Salem
North Carolina
* To Be, 1996, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro
Ohio
* Atman, 1979, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati
* Blubber, 1980, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo
* Eagle Wheel, 1979, Akron Museum of Art, Akron
* For Kepler, 1995, Miami University Art Museum, Oxford
* Tock, 1971, Weston, Harris & Alice, Cincinnati
Pennsylvania
* Victor's Lament, 1970, Muhlenberg College, Allentown
* Iroquois, 1999, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia
Rhode Island
* Untitled, 1969, Museum of Art, Providence
Tennessee
* Swizzle, Chattanooga State Technical Community College, Chattanooga
Texas
* Untitled, 1980, Buhsnami Sculpture Garden, Burton
* Ulalu, 2001, Bayfront Arts and Science Park, Corpus Christi
* Proverb, Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Hall, Dallas
* Ad Astra, 2005, NorthPark Center Mall, Dallas
* Eviva Amore, 2001, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas
* For F.B. Yeats, 1987, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas
* In the Bushes, 1975, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas
* Ave, 1973, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas
* Bygones, 1976, Menil Collection, Houston
* First European Variable Sculpture, 1973, Janie C. Lee Gallery, Houston
* Pranath Yama, 1978, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
* Clock Knot, 2008, University of Texas, Austin
Washington
* Scissors, 1976, Restricted Owner, Bellevue
* For Handel, 1975, Western Washington University, Bellingham
* Mindseye, 1978, Western Washington University, Bellingham
* The Answer, , Jon and Mary Shirley, Medina
* Charles, Merrill, Robin, Bing, 1967, Restricted Owner, Seattle
* Hand, 1962, Restricted Owner, Seattle
* Bunyon's Chess, 1965, Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle
* Schubert Sonata, 1992, Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle
Wisconsin
The Calling
* Lover, 1973, The Bradley Family Foundation Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee
* Poland, 1968, The Bradley Family Foundation Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee
* The Calling, 1982, Bluff Park, Milwaukee
International
Australia
* Ik ook, 1972, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
[edit] Canada
* Sticky Wicket, 1978, Art Gallery of York University, Toronto
France
* Extase, 1991, Technopôle Brest-Iroise site, Brest
* Etoile Polaire, 1973, Museum of Grenoble, Grenoble
* Place of the Invalids, 1997, La ville Chalon-sur-Saône
* Etoile du Jour, 1991, Quai André-Citroën, Paris
* Vivaldi, 1993, La Ville de Valence, Valence
New Star
Germany
* L'Allume, 1992, Bonn
* Spring Rain, 1992, Technoseum, Mannheim
* Racine du Naos, 1996, Skulpturen Park Köln, Cologne
* Galileo, 1996, DaimlerChrysler Collection, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin
* New Star, 1992, Viersen sculpture collection
Netherlands
* K-piece, 1972, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
Spain
* Homage to Brancusi, 1962, Museu d´Art Contemporani de Barcelona - MACBA, Barcelona
Sweden
* Blue Arch for Matisse, 1962, Moderna Museet, Stockholm
United Kingdom
* Nelly, 1986, Yorkshire Sculpture Park - YSP, Wakefield, West Yorkshire
* Tyne Anew, 1999, Albert Edward Dock, North Shields
References
1. ^ Blanton Museum, retrieved September1, 2008
2. ^ Baker, Kenneth (2000-07-16). "A Legion of Concerns Over Sculpture: Di Suvero's mediocre `Pax Jerusalem' may signal a troubling trend at Fine Arts Museums". San Francisco Chronicle. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/07/16/PK22392.DTL&type=art. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
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