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Steel and Stone
“Large river stones suspended on
metal beams comprise the only large-scale sculpture by Woods Davy on
view amid maquettes for future works. But the one fully realized piece
and the small scale models provide ample evidence that Davy’s style is
changing. He is still concerned with the same large question: How does
the artist combine natural and technological form to forge an object
that transcends the sum of its parts? His sculpture, for the most part,
continue to provide convincing answers.
“Landover” gives the natural element in Davy’s sculpture even more
emphasis, accentuating his use of crisp linear contrasts. On the left,
a vertical beam reaches up to a horizontally positioned rock, while at
right, uplifted stones preside above sideways beams. This creates a
carefully balanced seesaw effect (or a “push-pull” as Hans Hoffman
termed it).
Three other maquettes represent completed works which will be installed
outside the Security Pacific building in downtown Los Angeles as part
of its “Urban Sculpture: Architectural Concerns” exhibition. The
largest, Sierra Leone, is aprx. 20 feet tall. Even in maquette form it
is striking, since one can clearly imagine its majestically towering
beams serving as lofty supports for large stones. They persuade me to
believe that Davy will be producing formally powerful sculpture for a
long time to come.”
- Robert L. Pincus, art critic
Los Angeles Times, Sept. 2, 1983
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