Stinger

Photo: Paul Macapia

Stinger

1967-68 / 1999

Tony Smith

American, 1912-1980

Initially trained as an architect, Tony Smith first experimented with sculpture when he was nearly fifty. Stinger, one of his most monumental works, recalls an ancient structure such as a fortress, with three closed sides and one open side inviting the viewer to cross a threshold to its interior. Composed of cross-sections of tetrahedral and octahedral shapes, the sculpture combines a simple plan and complex elevation; resting on a single point it appears to hover above the ground. Originally called One Gate, Smith titled Stinger after the popular cocktail that is deceptively sweet but slyly intoxicating.
 
Steel, painted black
6 ft. 6 in. x 33 ft. 4 1/4 in. x 33 ft. 4 1/4 in.
Gift of Jane Smith
2004.117
Provenance: Estate of Tony Smith
Photo: Paul Macapia
location
Now on view at the Olympic Sculture Park

Resources

Exhibition HistoryNew York, New York, Paula Cooper Gallery, Tony Smith, May 1 - Aug. 9, 1999.

Boston, Massachusetts, Arts on the Point, University of Massachusetts, 2002 - 2004.
Published ReferencesSmith, Kiki, et al. Not an Object. Not a Monument. The Complete Large-Scale Sculpture of Tony Smith. London: Steidl Publishers MM, 2006; p. 92, reproduced pp. 60-61.

Seattle Art Museum: Bridging Cultures. London: Scala Publishers Ltd. for the Seattle Art Museum, 2007; pp. 78-79, reproduced p. 79.

Ishikawa, Chiyo, ed. A Community of Collectors: 75th Anniversary Gifts to the Seattle Art Museum. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 2007; reproduced p. 99.

Corrin, Lisa Graziose, et al. Olympic Sculpture Park. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 2007; reproduced pp. 44-45.

Gates, Mimi Gardner, ed. Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park: A Place for Art, Environment, and an Open Mind. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, in association with University of Washington Press, 2021; pp. 190, 51, 69, 101-2, 114, reproduced pp. 14, 52, 103.

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