Augusta Stylianou Gallery

Richard Rhodes (born 1961) is a Seattle, Washington-based sculptor, stone mason, entrepreneur, and scholar of stonework world-wide.[1] As a designer, Rhodes combines the aesthetics of traditional stone construction with contemporary building codes.

Born in California, Rhodes apprenticed as a stone mason in Siena, Italy, after graduate school at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1981.[2] Working with the operative branch of the Freemason’s guild in Siena, Richard first encountered the Sacred Geometries and the Sacred Rules of Bondwork as passed through the medieval guild of the Freemasons.[2] Rhodes credits his guild training as a major influence in his sculptural practice.[2]

His work explores the line between art and architecture and is self-described as “architectonic”. It is also largely site-specific. Rhodes most frequently works in the more durable stones, granite or high-density limestone. The work is textural and often draws on the expressive hand finishes he learned during his training and apprenticeship in Italy.[3] Several of his commissions have also incorporated antique stone objects such as salvaged and worn pavements or stair blocks.[1] Antique and salvaged granite was incorporated into Rhodes' largest public sculpture, a two thousand square-foot Stone Wave at the center of Antoine Predock's Tacoma Art Museum, which has attracted considerable attention since the museum (with Rhodes' support) has invited artists to contribute other works of art to the space that incorporate the stone wave as its base. Dale Chihuly's Niijima Floats was the first artwork to be created in this series.[4]

Rhodes is the founder of several businesses including Rhodes Architectural Stone, which purchased 17 villages behind the Three Gorges Dam project in China[5] and successfully recycled the antique stone material into construction of architectural projects in the United States.[1]

Written works by Richard Rhodes

* Doing Business Abroad Raises Ethical Concerns[6]
* Survivor: Trapped in New Orleans During Katrina, I used business skills to get home safely[7]
* Stone Expressions, a forthcoming collection of text and photographs exploring the history and practice of stone work from its origins to the present day.[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Trebay, Guy (June 26), "From Ming to the Patio", New York Times, archived from the original on June 26, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/26/garden/from-ming-to-the-patio.html?scp=1&sq=%22From%20ming%20to%20the%20patio%22&st=cse, retrieved June 10, 2010
2. ^ a b c d Laskin, David (8/06), "All Roads Lead to Home", Seattle Metropolitan Magazine: 96–105, http://www.seattlemet.com
3. ^ Anderson, Peggy (March 13), "Tacoma Art Museum: A sea of stone is at the heart of the new space", Seattle Post Intelligencer
4. ^ Graves, Jen (April 18), "Doing the Wave", Tacoma News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com/
5. ^ Haggart, Kelly (August 10), "Rock of Ages", Toronto Globe and Mail, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
6. ^ Rhodes, Richard (2003), [wsj.com "Doing Business Abroad Raises Ethical Concerns"], The Wall Street Journal, wsj.com
7. ^ Rhodes, Richard (November 1), "Survivor: Trapped in New Orleans During Katrina, I used business skills to get home safely", Fortune Small Business, archived from the original on November 1, 2005, http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2005/11/01/8360987/index.htm, retrieved June 14, 2010

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