The Back Room Weekly: "Boxer" by Roger Berry

The Back Room Weekly is a weekly essay featuring gems from our back room. This communication with JAYJAY patrons has been a vital way to promote the idea that the artworks we exhibit are each one of-a-kind-objects worth being singled out and discussed out of the context of an exhibit. All these artworks present a clear picture of JAYJAY’s mission that we continue to execute; exhibiting modern and contemporary work from museum track artists; scholars really, from this region and beyond.  

This week's piece: Boxer by Roger Berry

Roger Berry’s most recent sculptures just might be the greatest works of art in his professional career. Over the years, his silicon bronze and corten steel pieces have grown thicker and developed muscle, resulting in big bold forms. Berry uses mass, heft, and motion to convey abstract force, while his complex arcs and ellipses express a visual brilliance. 

Boxer’s compelling composition loops, twists, and curves into an extraordinary knot of heavy metal. The sculpture’s thick contours appear snake-like; coiling and squeezing the life from its prey. Although bronze is a durable and strong material, its façade remains delicate and smooth in its luxurious finish. The golden caramel hue of the surface’s patina exudes elegance and refinement and is meant to be marveled by its viewer.