Torso
Artist
James A. Tellin
(American, born 1930)
Date1999
Mediumplywood, pine board and acrylic paint
Dimensions94 × 33 × 10.2 cm (37 × 13 × 4 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of James Herbst in honor of his friendship with Jim Tellin
Object number2022.59
Label TextWorcester artist James Tellin has been making prints, collages, and sculptures since the 1950s. His elegant, abstract wood constructions are influenced in part by the natural world, such as geological formations, as well as the formal qualities of Japanese woodblock prints. This otherwise rigid geometric sculpture is animated by his approach to scale and shape. While non-representational, the work’s title, Torso, and gentle undulations in form suggest a surrogate body. Base layers of red paint emerge through a black top layer in varying intensities across the sculpture’s many facets. The warm tones seemingly glow from within, enlivening the sculpture and adding visual depth by highlighting the woodgrain pattern.
The late Terri Priest, whose Static Variations: Blue x 2 is displayed nearby, was a close friend of Tellin’s. Upon the installation of Torso, Priest’s variable dual-panel painting was reconfigured into a new formation in conversation with Tellin’s sculpture.On View
On view
