Over the past two decades BAM has exhibited several exceptional examples from the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts’ (AMFA) world class collection of works on paper. When the opportunity arose to curate a show from their entire collection, my first inclination was to sift through their thousands of drawings and prints to come up with a few sets that could be rotated out over the loan’s two plus year duration. Fortuitously AMFA’s extensive reconstruction, which brought about this loan, occurred at the same time Arkansas State University was designing and constructing the Windgate Center for Three Dimensional Arts, a new facility for teaching a broad range of traditional as well as contemporary sculptural processes. That, along with the intrinsic difficulties associated with borrowing sculpture such as crating, shipping costs and installation requirements, for our normally brief exhibitions, made a long term loan of three dimensional objects all the more logical and appealing.

Two titans from the ceramics world were selected to represent that medium. Included is a hand-built, slab constructed and glazed ceramic disc by internationally renowned Japanese artist Jun Kaneko. Also featured is a stoneware vessel with multiple protrusions radiating from the core by Peter Voulkos, whose significant impact on the field of ceramics elevated it from that of decorative to fine art.

A well-known bronze bust of Balzac by celebrated French artist Auguste Rodin, who is often considered to be the father of modern sculpture, and a bronze relief from notable British sculptor Henry Moore represent the medium of cast metal. Rounding out the exhibition is a charming, carved limestone rabbit by self-taught, Tennessee artist William Edmondson, who began his career late in life creating simple limestone tombstones.

The exhibition’s title, Height x Width x Depth, makes reference to the physical objects included in the exhibition but also the delightfully “deep” AMFA collection. The quantity and quality of sculpture they have amassed is quite impressive. From an educational standpoint my goal was to create a cohesive exhibition that inspired and informed our audience and students while representing as many basic three dimensional materials and methods as was possible.

As a sculptor myself, the idea of showing a monumental assemblage by Louise Nevelson was irresistible. I have long admired her monochromatic, wooden structures, so she became the initial anchor. Although Robyn Horn is best known for her roughly hewn wooden sculpture, I selected one of her small, finely formed pieces made of redwood burl inlaid with ebony. Horn’s work along with a monolithic walnut carving from Mark Lindquist were chosen to complement the Nevelson construction.

In between sits a carved, finely polished and laminated maple sculpture by Jerry Casebier.  Adjacent to this portrait of his father, is an exquisitely beaded figure by recent MacArthur Fellow Joyce J. Scott and a playful stoneware pot adorned with figures in bas relief who dance around the vessel’s surface by Wisconsin artist Michael Gross.

Across the gallery is an ominous looking, ceramic bust by Curt LaCross, which seems to eerily emerge from within the wall. Next to this, completing the space is a portrait in the form of a porcelain vase from Japanese-American artist Akio Takamori.

Although my agenda of including additive, subtractive, substitutive and constructive sculpture was met during the process of curating this show, my selections were largely formal and stylistically more modern than contemporary—which is BAM’s main focus. The opportunity to bring to the museum work by this group of internationally renowned artists was incredible, but the AMFA collection included many more very exciting objects that I was sure would also resonate with our viewers. It seemed the only reasonable solution was to select a second set of work.

After spending a fair amount of time reviewing the collection I narrowed my focus to that of the human form. As my starting point on one end of the second gallery I placed an enormous but delicate ceramic female figure by Peter VandenBerge, who peers across the room, at an immense and intricately inlaid male bust by Michael Ferris, Jr..

These fifteen artists, whose lives have spanned nearly two centuries, express themselves with a directness that is at once physical, fresh and thought provoking. Whether fabricated of wood or clay, mixed media, metal or stone these works of art force us to reconsider our notions of beauty and question the way we view our surroundings.

I offer much gratitude to the terrific staff at AMFA, BAM and A-State for all of their assistance with this exhibition. In particular I would like to thank Brian J. Lang, Katie Hall, Jennifer Jasinski and Delena Hurst, who spent a great deal of time working out the numerous specifics of the loan. I would also like to thank Anita Mitchell, who first walked me through the collection; Keith Melton whose attention to detail made many of our decisions much easier; to Sam Jones and Kendal Lute whose assistance with the installation was essential and to John Salvest for being my chauffeur, advisor, and best critic. Finally without Jacqueline Brightwell, Hillary Brooks and Haley Voges, who have helped with all aspects of this and every show, my last many years at BAM would not have been the incredible experience that it was.

-Les Christensen, Founding Director of Bradbury Art Museum