The Sun on the Edge, 2021

The-Sun-on-the-Edge

The Sun on the Edge, 2021
Cor-ten weathering steel and recycled granite
30 x 27 x 2 ft
The Sun on the Edge is a site-specific sculpture commissioned by the City of St. Petersburg for a roundabout in the EDGE District as part of a neighborhood revitalization project.
The image of the sun, constructed of granite, rests on its own reflection made of Cor-ten weathering steel. The use of industrial materials refers to the industrial history of the EDGE District. An invisible horizon line is suggested between the granite and steel, where the two meet is where the sun meets its reflection in the water. The work alludes to Florida as the “sunshine state,” and its unique peninsular geography, a state where you can see both the sunrise and the sunset on the water.
The massive stone rays define the sculpture’s shape, while the sun itself is formed by the interior empty space. The negative space frames the backdropping architecture, the landscape, and the sky. Pedestrians and drivers orbit the sculpture as the earth orbits the sun. This rotating movement creates a feeling of opening and closing, of rising and setting.
Located at the intersection of 11th Avenue North and Central Ave North, Edge District, St. Petersburg, FL.

Thoughts as Drawings

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Ilan Averbuch: Thoughts as Drawings
Published by Ilan Averbuch Studio, 2021.
Softcover, perfect bound, 8.5 x 11 inches, 124 pages
First edition of 200

Ilan Averbuch: Thoughts as Drawings brings together forty years of works on paper from the sculptor Ilan Averbuch. The book comprises over 140 color reproductions of small sketches and large drawings created between 1981 and 2020. Primarily a sculptor, the artist’s drawings have taken the backstage to his monumental public installations and works for exhibition. By concentrating on them here, the publication brings them to the fore and illuminates their role in Averbuch’s artistic practice. The large drawings are tied directly to the making of a large sculpture, often a public project proposal or commission. The artist uses watercolor, graphite and charcoal to represent his primary materials: stone, steel, wood, glass, and copper. The publication showcases sketches and large drawings for proposals never before seen by the public. Drawings of completed sculptures are juxtaposed alongside unrealized proposals, creating an archive of built and unbuilt works. The publication includes an essay highlighting the artist’s process, influences, and intentions as illustrated across the temporal and geographic span of the included works.

The book is available for purchase: https://ilanaverbuch.square.site/

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