D.T.E. (Primary Title)
Richard Serra, American, 1938–2024 (Artist)
“My prints and drawings are the result of trying to assess and define what surprises me in a sculpture, what I could not understand before a work was built.” —Richard Serra
In the late 1960s, Serra’s lead and steel sculptures established him as a leading Post-Minimalist. Serra has also made drawings and prints throughout his career. Unlike traditional sculptors’ studies, Serra’s works on paper are often created after the sculpture.
D.T.E., which stands for “double torque ellipse,” translates the physical power of Serra’s Torques Ellipse sculptures (1996-99) into labor-intensive etchings that push the medium to its limits. Serra builds up thick layers of molten paintstick and lithographic crayon and presses them through an aluminum screen onto a copper plate with his feet. The plate requires days of etching in an acid bath and nearly three hours of inking before it is printed on specially made paper.
Torques, Ellipses and Rounds, Gemini G.E.L. at Joni Moisant Weyl, New York, NY, November 3 - December 31, 1999
[1] Accessioned May 18, 2000. See VMFA Curatorial file.
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