TONY SMITH: ONE-TWO-THREE
Press Release
Art Production Fund Presents One-Two-Three by Tony Smith in Bryant Park To Celebrate Smith’s Legacy as Pioneer of Public Art in New York City Parks
Art Production Fund (APF) is pleased to present Tony Smith’s large-scale One-Two-Three in Bryant Park from March 13th through April 10th, 2013. Specifically conceived for outdoor display, the three-unit steel sculpture from 1976 will be exhibited on Bryant Park’s Fountain Terrace located at the entrance of 6th Avenue and 41st Street. The exhibition serves as a commemoration for the artist’s centennial.
Smith’s work inaugurated the public arts programming in New York City parks with the exhibition of eight plywood sculptures in Bryant Park in 1967. Co-sponsored by the New York City Department of Parks, the exhibition testified to the city’s longstanding commitment to public art in the modern era. “We are thrilled to bring the exceptional work of Tony Smith back to Bryant Park,” said Art Production Fund Co-Founders Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen. "Smith played a crucial role in public art, and we are honored to continue his legacy for our first historical project."
Consisting of three geometrical modular black units weighing a total of 2,700 pounds, One-Two-Three asserts a “presence” that requires viewers to respond to the work in physical terms as well as visual. Smith found his sculptures most appreciated and “accepted” in an environment involving nature, as opposed to the confining walls of an institution or gallery. In describing his 1967 exhibition at Bryant Park the artist explained, “the pieces seem inert or dormant in nature, and that is why I like them there, but they may appear aggressive or in hostile territory when seen among other artifacts.”
A contemporary of the Abstract Expressionists—whose influences are reflected in his work—Smith was an architect and painter before he shifted his attention to sculpture in the late 1950s. Regarded as one of the most influential Minimalist sculptors of his generation, he had created more than 50 large-scale and complex sculptures between 1960 and his death in 1980.
Tony Smith (1912-1980) was born in South Orange, New Jersey. A leading figure of American Minimalism, his work has been the subject of major solo exhibitions at prestigious museums including a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1998. In conjunction with the retrospective, Public Art Fund temporarily installed Smug (1973) at the entrance of Bryant Park. His work is in the permanent collections of the foremost institutions in the world including National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Menil Collection, Houston; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, Otterloo, The Netherlands.
Art Production Fund (APF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to commissioning and producing ambitious public art projects, reaching new audiences and expanding awareness through contemporary art. Recent projects include: SHOW, Vanessa Beecroft, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1998; PLAN B, Rudolf Stingel summer 2004, Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall and The Walker Art Center; Prada Marfa, Elmgreen & Dragset, Valentine, TX, 2005, permanent; Greeting Card, Aaron Young, Park Avenue Armory, 2007; Electric Fountain, Noble & Webster, Rockefeller Plaza, 2008. The Ghosts, Sue de Beer, Park Avenue Armory, New York City, 2011; After Hours: Murals on The Bowery, New York City, 2011; David Brooks, Desert Rooftops, NYC, 2012; Josephine Meckseper, Manhattan Oil Project, NYC, 2012; Kiki Smith, Chorus, NYC, 2012; Yoko Ono, Imagine Peace Times Square, NYC 2012; Yvette Mattern, Global Rainbow After The Storm, NYC 2012; Ryan McGinley, Taxi TV, NYC, 2013. Co-Founders: Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen; Director: Casey Fremont Crowe.
For more information please visit: www.artproductionfund.org
For press inquiries please contact: (212) 228-4048 or Danielle@PrenticeArt.com
