#thaddeus mosley

[cronenburger]

Sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, who found international fame in his 90s, has died. 
He worked nights at a Pittsburgh post office. At 92, his art career finally took off.

https://wapo.st/47ZVevd (Gift Article)

Sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, pictured in 1957 with one of his early pieces. (Courtesy of Karma and the estate of Thaddeus Mosley)

[luckyacid]

Thaddeus Mosley Proximity Installation view

[strathshepard]

Thaddeus Mosley at KARMA

[archiveofphotography]

thaddeus mosley photo? MARFA J.

[protoslacker]

Iconic Pittsburgh sculptor Thaddeus G. Mosley Jr. dies at 99

Internationally renowned sculptor Thaddeus Mosley gained most of his acclaim after age 90, but his monumental abstract sculptures made from

He was a dedicated family man, ubiquitous community pillar, and an inimitable creative force who embodied the hard-working ethos of his blue-collar Western Pennsylvanian roots and the innovative essence of the classic jazz music that served as his spiritual inspiration. ~Khari Mosley

[longlistshort]

The hand carved wood sculptures above were created from 2020-2022 by Pittsburgh artist Thaddeus Mosley and were on view at Karma in NYC in 2023.

From the gallery’s press release-

In a recent photograph taken in his studio, Thaddeus Mosley peers between the soaring columns of his sculptures. They are gallant constructions of wood, each hand-carved and formed out of unique sections from three to four logs. With his chisel, Mosley exalts the warm tones and woodgrain which lay beneath the outer tree bark. His dimensions vary, ranging from monumental to modest, rounded to angular, vaulted to hovering just above the ground. Their presence is determined by Mosley’s negotiation between natural materials and an exploration of weight and space. A feat of balance, his sculptures exist in a constant state of suspension: heavy sections seem to float above the delicately-carved pieces that support them.

Mosley began creating wooden sculptures in the 1950s while working at the United States Postal Service, which enabled him to both provide for his family and develop his craft in his free time. At 96 years old, Mosley continues his life’s work as an artist in his Pittsburgh studio near the Allegheny River. A strong influence in his practice can be traced to his encounter with a photograph of African American grave markers in Georgia. According to Mosley, their slender, soaring forms called to mind Constantin Brâncuși’s Bird in Space (1923). He explains that “in each of them I saw a similar spirit, a similar approach to clean fluid shapes coming from people working close to the earth and trying to fuse the earth and human spirituality into a single form.” Mosley allows the natural forms of wood to guide him toward a conceptual and aesthetic meeting point, where European modernism meets the abstract and interpretive traditions of West African mask-making, and the movement of his chisel captures the rhythmic improvisations of a Jazz soloist. Mosley’s process bears traces of Isamu Noguchi’s own navigation of natural materials, providing new meaning to the late sculptor’s adage that “it is weight which provides meaning to weightlessness.”

Working primarily in hardwoods such as walnut, cherry, and chestnut, Mosley reveres the surfaces he uncovers with his chisel: deep lustres, arcs of bright coloration, growth rings, and the shadowy depth within deep cuts. Panoramic Quarter (2021) brings together inverted forms, in which recessed spirals and connected logs create a dramatic inflection. Horizontality is emphasized in Phase of a Phrase (2022), while Path of Pendulum (2020) delights in the vertical movement of arching forms, which are composed in a gravity-defying embrace. His work dances with viewers as they encircle it.  Mosley’s dynamic forms encourage deep looking, whether it is in Id (2021), a low, conical carving, or Southwestern Suite (2021), in which monumental sections seem to vanish when viewed at specific angles. In Elegiac Stanza for Sam Gilliam (2022), Mosley honors the life of the abstract painter and close friend through a lyrical intersection of walnut, varying between hewn and smooth surfaces. On rare occasions, Mosley has incorporated salvaged metals into particular pieces of hardwood. In the case of Industrial Collage (2022), a curved cut of steel is affixed to a base of walnut, from which Mosley has balanced two pieces of chestnut, adorned with pounded metal that has been grounded off from the steel section. Mosley salvaged the steel piece from an abandoned industrial building, where it was previously used as a support beam for an industrial fan. It stayed with him in his studio for fourteen years while Mosley waited, searching for the right slab of wood. Each piece of wood, every material for Mosley is subject to this process of aesthetic consideration: a three-dimensional call-and-response.

His work can currently be seen in City Hall Park in NYC for the exhibition Touching the Earth, on view until 11/16/2025. The eight bronzes included were cast from wood sculptures he made between 1996 and 2021.

For more information on the artist- this ARTNews article is an interesting read.

[oculablog]

Thaddeus Mosley Perge Modo, 2020 Bronze, edition 1/3 + 1AP Courtesy Karma.

[brooklynmuseum]

In this final roundup of our 2021 new acquisitions, we’re thrilled to welcome to our contemporary collections works by some of today’s most influential artists, including Kara Walker, Laura Aguilar, Jerome Lagarrigue, Thaddeus Mosley, Russell Craig, and Sky Hopinka. Also joining our collection are two hand-embellished prints by artists Devan Shimoyama and Allison Zuckerman, commissioned by Art for Change, created in support of the Museum. We’re proud and privileged to steward these new works on behalf of our community and are excited to share how you can engage with this inspiring array of new acquisitions, in the new year!

Kara Walker (American, born 1969). Lady Midnight (Original score), American. Prince McVeigh and the Turner Blasphemies, 2021. Single channel video, color, sound, 12 minutes 6 seconds. Brooklyn Museum, William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, TL2021.30. © Kara Walker (Photo: courtesy of the artist) ⇨ Laura Aguilar (American, 1959-2018). Nature Self-Portrait #10, 1996. Gelatin silver photograph. Brooklyn Museum Purchased with funds given by the Charina Endowment Fund, TL2021.17.5. © Laura Aguilar Trust of 2016 ⇨ Jerome Lagarrigue (French, born 1973). Besieged, 2017.Oil on linen. Brooklyn Museum, William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, TL2021.31. © Jerome Lagarrigue (Photo: courtesy of the artist) ⇨ Thaddeus Mosley (American, born 1926). Circled Plane, 2016. Cherry and walnut wood. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Alex Katz Foundation, 2020.28.2. © Thaddeus Mosley (Photo: courtesy of the Artist and Karma, New York) ⇨ Russell Craig (American, born Philadelphia, 1980). Mockery, 2019. Fabric, acrylic pigment. Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of The Hayden Family Foundation, TL2021.35. © Russell Craig (Photo: courtesy of the artist) ⇨ Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation, born 1984). Lore, 2019. 16mm film, color, mono, 10 minutes 16 seconds loop. Edition 2/3, (2 AP). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by the Charina Endowment Fund, 2021.8. © Sky Hopinka (Photo: courtesy of Sky Hopinka and Broadway Gallery, NYC) ⇨ Devan Shimoyama, Dizzy Spell (2021) Archival pigment print with rhinestones and collage. Limited edition of 20 with 4 AP  ⇨ Allison Zuckerman, Crossing the Alps, (2021) Print on stretched canvas with glitter, gemstones, and acrylic paint. Limited edition of 10 with 4 AP