In the mid-1980s, Gene Summers began working on furniture and sculpture after being directly involved in the design of the Seagrams Building and the Farnsworth House. Summers worked under Mies van der Rohe and drew much inspiration from his architectural career, but took to sculpture while he was living in France, creating more than 100 works in just a few short years.
Summers’ commitment to craft is evidenced by his use of lost wax casting. One of the oldest metal techniques, lost wax casting captures and replicates the most precise details of the artist’s original model. This labor intensive method requires the original sculpture to be duplicated in wax each time a new casting is poured. Summers enjoyed his sculptural works as he said, “You don’t have to talk to clients; you don’t have to talk to employees. It’s all your own hands.”
In 2014 Wright partnered with the estate of Gene Summers to become the exclusive resource for the Gene Summers Collection. On March 25th, Wright Now opened an exhibition of Summers’ work, here are a few of our picks.
Gene Summers, F35 Chairs. USA, 1987. 25 1/2″h x 32 1/4w x 33d inch.
Gene Summers, A17 Andirons. USA, 1988. Bronze. 7w x 21 ½ d x 20 ½ h in.
Gene Summers, F15 table. USA, 1985. Patinated bronze. 16 w x 16 d in.
Gene Summers, C8 Candlestick. USA, 1987. Bronze. 7 ½ w x 4 d x 20 ½ h in.
Gene Summers, C47 Candlestick. USA, 1988. Bronze. 4 ¼ w x 2 ½ d x 1- ¾ h in.
All images courtesy of Wright Now.
