Richard Serra

In 1993, when sculptor Richard Serra was asked which direction the development of his work would take, he laughed and answered: ‘Up and down and sideways. And in between.’ That remark neatly summarises his oeuvre. Serra dedicated nearly sixty years to relentlessly exploring new sculptural forms, how they relate to their environment and the fundamental qualities of various materials. How can you balance heavy steel sheeting? When will gravity kick in, causing a thing to fall over? What role do mass, weight, and placement play in the creation of sculptures? And how does an artwork change the way we experience our own position within a space?

Influenced by minimal art and process art, Serra initially worked with rubber, lead and other industrial materials. From 1967 to 1968, he compiled a list of verbs (Verb List) describing basic artistic interventions, such as to tear, to cut and to splash. He continued to apply these for the rest of his career, such as in his permanent work at De Pont, Gutter Splash Two Corner Cast. In the 1970s, Serra began to shift his focus to steel, the material that was to define his oeuvre. Massive, free-standing steel sheets are arranged, not welded, evoking both balance and instability. With enormous drawings like Olmec, a work in the museum’s collection, he attempted to achieve the same effect on the viewer. 

The result is an imposing piece that is rooted in the industrial era, like 19th-century steel bridges and skyscrapers that seemed to arise more or less on their own. Starting in the 1990s, Serra’s sculptures became more fluid and spatial in nature. His spiral-shaped installations explored how curved sheets of steel could influence the movement, perspective and bodily experience of the viewer. 

Serra warned that, as he put it, art is ‘purposefully useless’. You experience a sculpture; you don’t use it for anything. You relate to it in a physical way: by walking through it, for instance. His steel sculptures sometimes elicit strong reactions when placed in urban spaces. Critics view them as unattractive, while supporters praise their dynamic shapes and industrial beauty. One thing is clear: Serra’s forms enhance our awareness of our surroundings.