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George Rickey Art

American, 1907-2002
GEORGE RICKEY Born: South Bend, Indiana, 1907 Died: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2002 George Rickey spent over five decades committed to the creation of poetic and precisely-calibrated sculptures that he referred to as his “useless machines.” Of all the natural forces, it was the wind’s movement that most captured Rickey’s imagination. He once wrote, “The artist finds waiting for him, as subject, not the trees, not the flowers, not the landscape, but the waving of branches and the trembling of stems, the piling up or scudding of clouds, the rising and setting and waxing and waning of heavenly bodies.” Rickey began to devote himself to the investigation of motion in sculpture, producing dynamic works using simple geometric forms such as lines, squares, rectangles, circles, etc., in which his prodigious understanding of engineering and mechanics is demonstrable. Though the works enthusiastically collaborate with the interference of wind currents in their environment, the speed of their random movements are tempered by simple spacing and fixed arrangement of the elements. The relationship of the parts remains the same, but the dance is always changing. It is this tension that defines Rickey’s sculptures. “I think it’s important to make art that you have to wait for,” said the artist. As such, the works are able to oscillate gracefully through an infinite number of compositional iterations, engaging all aspects of the natural world around them—wind, light, rain, fog, or the lack thereof. Much of Rickey’s work was created in his studio in East Chatham, New York, where he settled in 1960. Prior to that time, the artist had lived and taught in Bloomington, IN; New Orleans, LA; New York, NY, and throughout the Midwest. His childhood, youth and college years were spent in Scotland and Britain. Aside from East Chatham he had studios in Berlin, Germany and Santa Barbara, CA. George Rickey's work is included in the permanent collections of over 150 museums worldwide, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh; Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam and Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland, among many others. Key exhibitions include George Rickey: Monumental Sculptures on Park Avenue, New York (2021); A Life in Art: Works by George Rickey, Indianapolis Art Center, Indiana (2009); George Rickey: Kinetic Sculpture, A Retrospective, Vero Beach Museum of Art, Florida; Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids and McNay Art Museum, San Antonio (2007-09); George Rickey: Kinetische Skulpturen, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany (2003) and George Rickey – Retrospective Exhibition, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1979).
(Biography provided by Karl Hutter Fine Art)
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Artist: George Rickey
Tetrahedron Variations (86, Verlag Marburg)
By George Rickey
Located in New York, NY
George Rickey Tetrahedron Variations, 1971 Color Lithograph on Rives BFK Paper with Deckled Edges Hand signed, numbered 52/100 and dated on front with publisher's and printer's blind...
Category

1970s Kinetic George Rickey Art

Materials

Lithograph

Sculptural Study
By George Rickey
Located in New York, NY
George Rickey Sculptural Study, 1974 Lithograph on Rives BFK paper. Signed in graphite on the lower front, with publishers' blind stamp. H.C. 11 1/2 × 5 3/4 inches Unframed Excellen...
Category

1970s Abstract Geometric George Rickey Art

Materials

Lithograph

Pencils and Pens
By George Rickey
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Pencils and Pens Graphite on paper, 1987 Signed and dated by the artist lower right (see photo) Condition: Excellent Image/Sheet size: 13 5/16 x 10 11/16 inches Rickey, a noted kine...
Category

1980s American Modern George Rickey Art

Materials

Graphite

Apollo and Daphne
By George Rickey
Located in New York, NY
A superb, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce, early etching, aquatint and engraving with hand coloring in watercolor on cream wove paper. Colors are strong with crisp, ...
Category

1940s Kinetic George Rickey Art

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving, Etching, Aquatint

Two Spirals
By George Rickey
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Two Spirals, 1971 Metal with marble base Height at rest: 7 inches Signed and dated "Rickey 1971" on base Unique
Category

1970s Abstract Geometric George Rickey Art

Materials

Marble, Metal

Two Open Rectangles Excentric
By George Rickey
Located in Greenwich, CT
Kinetic sculpture by George Rickey. Incised with the artist's signature, date 1975 and number 1/3 (on the base). Dimensions: minimum: 79 by 21 ⅜ by 10 in. maximum: 79 by 80 by 10 in...
Category

1970s Abstract George Rickey Art

Materials

Stainless Steel

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Previously Available Items
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George Rickey art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic George Rickey art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by George Rickey in lithograph, aquatint, engraving and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large George Rickey art, so small editions measuring 6 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Jack Sonenberg, Vincent Longo, and Ray Elman. George Rickey art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,500 and tops out at $32,000, while the average work can sell for $3,750.

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