Louis Marinaro: Rodin and the Contemporary Figurative Tradition

Stamps Professor Louis Marinaro’s work is on view in Rodin and the Contemporary Figurative Tradition, opening Friday, September 15 at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. Marinaro will participate in a panel discussion moderated by curator Joseph Bechereron on Thursday, September 14 from 6 – 8 pm. 

Auguste Rodin (1840−1917) was among the most revolutionary figurative artists in history, and his vast influence continues today. Timed to coincide with the centenary of his passing and international recognition as the greatest sculptor of modernism, this exhibition features seventeen contemporary sculptors whose work is in dialogue with and perhaps even indebted to the great French master. In addition to the display of several works by Rodin, the galleries will highlight seventeen critically acclaimed sculptors from across the United States and Europe. 

Today, many sculptors are looking at the work of Rodin through new eyes. Ideas of figuration, fragmentation, portraiture, narrative and materiality have never been so broadly and inventively explored. This exhibition, organized exclusive for Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, offers an international survey of the importance of figurative sculpture in the ambiance of Rodin. Works at variety of scale and in numerous materials from bronze and marble, to wood and video. In the galleries, sculptures will be displayed in visual conversation with original works by Rodin, including Meijer Gardens own cast of The Kiss.

Rodin and the Contemporary Figurative Tradition at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
Friday, September 15 — Saturday, January 7, 2018
panel discussion: Thursday, September 14 from 6 – 8 pm