James A Michener Art Museum
Steve Tobin Exhibition Program
MM2 Modern Dance – Dance with Sculpture
Sunday, September 21, 2014 from 3 to 4:30 pm
Outdoor Sculpture Garden, weather permitting. Rain date: Sunday, September 28.
Free and open to the public; reservations not required.
James A. Michener Art Museum · 138 S. Pine St. · Doylestown, PA 18901 · 215.340.9800
Dance with Sculpture was a program established by MM2 in 2003 in order to provide new and innovative interpretations and appreciation of works of sculpture, through interdisciplinary collaborations. Dancers will create a series of site specific improvisational dance pieces in response to sculptures on display by Steve Tobin.
Internationally recognized for his strong yet elegant interpretations of elements from the natural world, Tobin receives well-earned recognition in his hometown with this exhibition of his monumental Steelroots, Exploded Earth vessels, and intricate Forest Floors bronzes from the Earth Bronzes series. The Michener Art Museum will present examples of Tobin’s work in an installation that will be presented simultaneously in the Museum’s galleries and in the outside sculpture garden.
Quakertown artist, Steve Tobin, received international acclaim for his massive work, The Trinity Root, at St. Paul’s Chapel in Lower Manhattan, NY. During the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the chapel had been partly shielded from damage by a 70-year-old sycamore tree. Tobin created a bronze sculpture of the tree’s stump and roots that has attracted millions of visitors and is permanently sited on the corner of Wall Street and Broadway. In museum and gallery installations around the world, Tobin has exhibited work in metal, glass and other media – works he describes as “monuments to the meeting of science and art.” Tobin has pushed the limits of every material he has touched. Wondrous nature, order versus chaos and cause and effect are central themes of his amazing sculptures, enabling his works to resonate across a wide variety of audiences.
While Tobin was first known for his glass work, in recent years epic sculpture in bronze and steel has been the focus of his attention. Specifically, he has evolved his most famous Roots to stylized and graceful linear elements. This exhibition will feature several large scale sculptures outside the museum walls and the 15′ high Steelroots sculpture soaring within the Martin Wing. These will be supplemented by more intimate examples in a variety of colorful patinas ranging from three to six feet high. Brush drawings in Japanese Sumi ink on rice paper that work through his ideas, and video interviews conducted world-wide will be incorporated in the galleries. In addition, an installation of Tobin’s early glass work, illuminated from within, will be an elegant complement to the strong steel and bronze compositions.
The exhibition will be augmented by numerous programs, including lectures and gallery talks, organized visits to Tobin’s Quakertown studio, and contemporary dance by regional performers inspired by the graceful lines of the pieces.
This project is curated and organized by the Director and CEO of the Michener Art Museum, Lisa Tremper Hanover.
Out of this World: Works by Steve Tobin is generously supported by Visit Bucks County and an anonymous friend of the Museum.