MARK DI SUVERO |
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MARK DI SUVERO
Sculpture, Prints, Drawings
Mark di Suvero was born in 1933 as Marco Polo di Suvero, in Shanghai, China, to Italian parents. The family immigrated to the United States in 1941. This abstract expressionist sculptor attended the University of California, Berkeley to study fine arts, and ultimately earned a degree in Philosophy. Later, di Suvero moved to New York City where he was surrounded by an explosion of Abstract Expressionism. While working in construction, di Suvero was injured in a nearly fatal elevator accident. While in rehabilitation, he learned to weld steel, which was something he could do while sitting in his wheelchair. His early works were large outdoor pieces that incorporated railroad ties, tires, scrap metal and structural steel. His explorations transformed over time to focus on I-beams and heavy gauge metal. Many of his pieces contain sections that are allowed to swing and rotate giving the overall forms a considerable range of motion. Through perseverance and determination, di Suvero gradually re-learned to walk, and in 1967 he acquired a crane, which allowed him to work in a more improvisational way and on a larger scale. By this time, his sculpture had been shown at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Jewish Museum in New York, the Rodin Museum in Paris, and in Los Angeles, where in 1966 he designed and installed the Peace Tower in criticism of US involvement in Vietnam. Di Suvero moved to Europe in 1972, where he continued to work vigorously, with shows in France, the Netherlands and the Venice Biennale in 1975. He returned to the United States in 1975 where he was honored with a solo show at the Whitney Museum in New York. Since then, di Suvero has continued to exhibit extensively across the world and currently lives in New York.
