Sorel Etrog

Heffel Auction House Biography and Notes

In his 1967 monograph on Sorel Etrog's sculpture, William Withrow's analysis of the artist's work was both insightful and prescient in addressing Etrog's vision of the world. He wrote: "One naturally wonders why Etrog's personal vision must see the world in terms of the tension...of opposing forces...linear and volumetric, geometric and organic, restful and dynamic, sensual and spiritual." Withrow goes on to posit two major influences on Etrog's oeuvre - the artist's own early constructions and his respect for the art of ancient civilizations. Although those influences were indeed the basis of much of this celebrated artist's creative inspiration, his intellect and inventiveness led him down many other roads. One such path was the Hinges series (1972 - 1979), which marked Etrog's return to monochrome bronze sculpture following his colourful Screws and Bolts series (1971 - 1973). In Hinges, true to the contrasting themes noted by Withrow, Etrog produced what he referred to as extroverts - walking figures like Pieton and Rushman - and introverts, which, like Pebble Bird, in the words of Pierre Restany, "suggest the possibility that the ambiguous inner world may be opened and revealed."