Tony Rosenthal, Sculptor of Public Art
Best known for his Monumental Public Art created over seven decades, Tony Rosenthal received his first Public Art Commission in 1939 for the historic World's Fair.
The Sam Kootz Influence
The 1960's were a significant turning point for Tony Rosenthal as the Artist changed his Name from "Bernard Rosenthal" and also completely abandoned Figurative Sculpture. Sam Kootz, Rosenthal's Art Dealer, who also represented Pablo Picasso, convinced Rosenthal to concentrate on creating Abstract Geometric Sculptures which won Rosenthal even wider acclaim. Kootz also encouraged the Artist to use his nickname, "Tony", and since 1960, was professionally known and credited as Tony Rosenthal.
Tony Rosenthal, Public Art Legend
Named a Public Art Legend by Sam Hunter, Professor and Art Critic, Monumental Outdoor Public Art Sculptures by Tony Rosenthal are located in many of the largest United States Cities, including Beverly Hills, CA; Detroit, MI; Highland Park, IL; Honolulu, HA; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; New London, CT; New York, NY; Norfolk, VA; Philadelphia, PA; San Diego,CA.
Edward Albee: Rosenthal's objects instruct us, alter our perceptions, disturb and thrill us by their audacity. In the introduction to Sam Hunter's "Tony Rosenthal," Monograph, published by Rizzoli, 1999, Edward Albee, three-time Pulitzer Prize winning Playwright states "Tony works in all sizes. His monumental outdoor pieces, set in landscapes or in busy city spaces, seem always to have been there. His more intimate Wall Sculptures and standing forms have a monumentality no matter what their actual size. Like all the important metal workers - like Stankiewicz, like Caro, like Serra, like Chamberlain - Rosenthal's objects instruct us, alter our perceptions, disturb and thrill us by their audacity, their wonder and their inevitability."
Diverse Range of Sizes, Shapes & Mediums
Tony Rosenthal constantly explored Sculpture, whether it be monumental or just a few inches, in a variety of mediums including, steel, bronze, aluminum, brass, wood and concrete. Tony enjoyed all Aspects of Art, and unlike so many Sculptors, hand crafting both macquettes and many of the larger versions himself. Rosenthal relished the process of making Art as well as the Public interaction with his Art. Rosenthal earned a B.F.A. from both the University of Michigan and the Cranbrook Academy of Art, and acknowledged his gratitude by donating his Archives to Cranbrook.
Cubes & Squares Sculptures
Tony Rosenthal Cube Sculptures are like a city, intelligent formations with secrets, hiding, balancing and finding in limitations all the possibilities of a mixed society. Within a Tony Rosenthal Cube, we see other shapes, planes, exposed creating steps or stairs, like a mountain difficult to climb. But climb we do, because it is the invention of clean geometry that makes man other than nature.
Tony Rosenthal 1967 Alamo Sculpture
Tony Rosenthal's "Alamo", the Monumental 15 foot Cor-Ten Steel Sculpture, also known as the Astor Place Cube, the Artist's most famous Public Art Sculpture, and considered a NY Landmark. Tony Rosenthal "Alamo", 1967, was first installed at Astor Place as part of Doris C. Freedman's "Sculpture in Environment" Installation, sponsored by the New York Administration of Recreation & Cultural Affairsand now one of five Public Art Sculptures in New York City by Tony Rosenthal.
Rings, Discs & Rondo Sculpture Series
Tony Rosenthal explored the Rings, Discs & Rondo Series for five decades, creating both small and large scale Sculptures. 24/7 in New York, Philadelphia and Antwerp, you can see a major Tony Rosenthal without going to a Museum.
Rosenthal's created his Ring Series so the Works react to the surroundings of their environment; in effect, the Sculpture itself becomes a frame. Being framed by the romance of a point of view, the feeling of movement, and the reverberation of movement, those who pass 5 in 1, the 35 foot Sculpture at 1 Police Place enjoy the juxtaposition of the Sculpture within New York's financial district, whether they are summoned to jury duty, going to or from work or just enjoying the sites. Viewers see the vigor from the choices that are commanded by Rosenthal's Discs Sculptures; Tony Rosenthal finds, discovers and reports to us what we might not have seen without him.
Wall Sculpture Series
Tony Rosenthal has created a masterful Abstract Series of Wood & Metal Wall Sculptures, which convey the metaphor of writing on the wall; flat, hard-edged shapes, contrasting suggestions of the organic, all parts of design, shape and organization; the marriage of the hard edge and soothing curves. In Tony Rosenthal's "Untitled" ("Two Blue Stripes"), 2007, the yellow shape resembles the profile of a woman's body, while the curved black shape looks like her rear silhouette. Rosenthal Sculpture presents contrasting shapes within the confines of a geometric circle.
Tony Rosenthal Accumulations
In 1997, well into his eighth decade, Tony Rosenthal commenced Accumulations, a Series of Freestanding Steel and Wood Sculptures, he called "three dimensional sketches" that seem to float in space. By adding one unit to another, Tony Rosenthal welded each element into place, forming Accumulation Sculptures in large and small size, each with interacting formal units that look like they could be randomly placed.
International Solo & Group Exhibitions
Throughout his career, Mr. Rosenthal exhibited all over the world in solo and group shows. In addition to the legendary Kootz Gallery, New York, Tony Rosenthal received numerous one man Exhibitions at M. Knoedler & Company, New York; André Emmerich Gallery, New York; Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York; Catherine Viviano Gallery, New York and Denise Rene, Paris.
Prestigious International Museum and Public Collections
- Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
- The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia
- Department of Parks and Recreation, New York
- Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
- Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, New York
- Israel Museum, Jerusalem
- The Museum of Modern Art, New York
- National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
- The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. (Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection)
- The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut
Tony Rosenthal Solutions for Complexity
It can be said that Tony Rosenthal's Sculptures presents the solutions for complexity finding order; sometimes it feels like tackling a problem, sometimes the appeal is emotional like the gestures of a dance or survival. But Tony Rosenthal Sculptures always revel in the element of discovery, finding his way through arrangements of line and space like the strong power and strength of a candid camera moment, expressing the fleeting excitement of process, remaining because a sculptural rendition is created. Rosenthal allows us to look at remembrance, recalling life as it was, or what we desire that it may be.
Tony Rosenthal Archives
We are always interested in hearing from Collectors,
Museums and Public Institutions that own Works of Art by Tony Rosenthal.
Please contact the Tony Rosenthal Archivist at archives@tonyrosenthal.com
Tony Rosenthal Selected Sculpture 1995-2009
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