Riviera

Date1971-1974

One of the greatest British sculptors of the 20th century, Anthony Caro was among the first artists to explore the language of abstraction in large-scale sculpture. Riviera is choreographed with an extended series of irregular forms, and unfolds laterally, like a landscape. The rhythmic vertical and horizontal structure retains a strongly architectural character, and because it is constructed of parts, Riviera appeals to the eye as an object meant to be experienced over time, rather than absorbed in a single look.

Object number2014.25.9

Provenance[Leo Castelli, New York, New York]; purchased from gallery by Virginia and Bagley Wright, Seattle, Washington, 1976

Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia

I have been trying to eliminate references and make truly abstract sculpture, composing the parts of the pieces like notes in music.

Anthony Caro

Exhibition HistoryNew York, New York, Museum of Modern Art, Anthony Caro, Apr. 30 - July 6, 1975 (Minneapolis, Minnesota, Walker Art Center, Sept. 14 - Nov. 2, 1975; Houston, Texas, Museum of Fine Arts, Dec. 11 - Feb. 1, 1976; did not travel to Boston, Museum of Fine Arts). Text by William Rubin, reproduced p. 165.Published ReferencesArnason, H. Harvard. History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1977; reproduced pl. 653. Patton, Phil. “Unpublic Sculpture.” ARTnews, April 1984; pp. 82 - 87. Fairbrother, Trevor. The Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum in association with University of Washington Press, 1999; p. 199, reproduced on endsheet [not in exhibition]. Corrin, Lisa Graziose et al. Olympic Sculpture Park. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 2007, reproduced pp. 48-49. Brummel, Kenneth, et al. Anthony Caro: Sculpture Laid Bare. Exh. Cat. Ontario: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2017; p.14 [not in exhibition].

Credit LineGift of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

Dimensions127 x 324 x 120 in. (322.6 x 823 x 304.8 cm)

MediumSteel rusted and varnished