Richard Erdman: A Profile

There are certain groups whose mutual exclusivity we, as a culture, commonly reference: there are those who look at the glass half full or half empty; cat people, dog people; field players, goalies; and the list goes on. While sculptors are artists, and artists can be sculptors, the divide between 2-dimensional art and the 3-dimensional form leaves sculptors out-numbered and on one side of a binary divide.

While it is difficult to generalize the tie that binds sculptors as a group, when Richard Erdman recently spoke at West Branch Gallery & Sculpture Park to reflect on the method and medium that has guided his work for nearly 40 years, one can’t help to think that others of his ilk share the same inspiration.

“I want my work to reflect the senses that we experience and I have always found that the more sensations that are being activated, the more lively experience you are having…you are engaging your senses so much deeper, and I find that to be the spiritual part of life and why I do 3 dimensional sculpture”, explained Erdman. And there is no better example of this spiritual engagement but at the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens at PepsiCo in Purchase, New York, where Passage, the largest sculpture in the world carved from a single block of marble, enlivens the senses and piques our interest in the sculpture and the sculptor himself.

The nine-minute documentary, Richard Erdman: A Profile, captures the spirit of Erdman’s work and his creative process from conception to fruition, leaving the viewer wondering if sculptors are in fact a breed of their own.