George Rickey

Two Fixed Two Moving Lines V

George Rickey (1907 - 2002) created a unique body of work within the context of kinetic art – sculpture in motion. His works are to be found worldwide as large scale works in city plazas, country settings, museum and corporate environments, and as intimate pieces in both residential and commercial interiors.

The sculptures of deceptively simple design appear magical, often whimsical, creating an elegance of motion through space and time. They are remarkable for their lightness and delicacy, often, despite their size. Central to their concept is motion and balance that is totally dependent on air currents for effect.

Originally a painter, George Rickey turned to sculpture in 1949, at the age of 42, when he began to “draw in space”. His early works owe inspiration to Alexander Calder, but Rickey quickly went on to define a style of his own. Like his friend, the sculptor David Smith, he drew upon, as a source, the early twentieth century Constructivist movement, i.e., to create sculpture through an assembling of parts rather than by modeling or casting.

Rickey’s first major international recognition came in 1964 when he participated in Documenta III in Kassel, Germany. At this important art exhibition, he created a sensation when his composition – Two Lines – two 35-ft. high tapered steel blades rose and dipped in slow sweeping motion above the crowds.

In the years following, as he began to write and exhibit worldwide, Rickey found that a number of European artists shared his views. But while the Europeans worked on motion primarily with the aid of motors, Rickey’s paramount concern became the interplay between his construction and wind and air.