Axiom One, 1966

Ruth and Naomi, 1935

Moses at Nebo, 1953

RUTH NICKERSON

A female pioneer in a field dominated by men until the late 1900's, Nickerson first discovered her love for sculpture at age 10 while living with her family in the Florida Everglades. Her older brother was carving a dasheen - a type of potato - for a school project. She decided it looked like fun and gave it a try. In 1924, at age 19, Nickerson studied sculpture at the Detroit School of Applied Art, taking classes at night and working days and weekends. Her remarkable persistence and love of her craft took the Wisconsin native to New York City in 1928, for four more years of working around the clock while attending classes at the National Academy and the Beaux Arts Institute. As a female, Nickerson was unable to find apprentice work with any of the great sculptors of the time. Striking out on her own in a studio on 14th Street in Manhattan, she discovered the art of direct stone carving, and found that materials such as Tennessee marble were the most appropriate to represent the simplistic, precise and lasting sculptural forms that have since become her trademark. Throughout her career - spanning some of the most chaotic years in American art - Nickerson found her niche sculpting larger-than-life religious figures directly from stone. Exhilarated by the prospect of taking a raw material and creating a completely original carving, she set out to give dignity, strength and simplicity to each piece. The resulting works possess a classic serenity that speaks to both the novice viewer and the veteran collector. Nickerson's talent has been recognized through the years with numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the National Academy of Design's Saltus Gold Medal, The National Sculpture Society's Therese Wright Prize, Allied Artists of America's Religious Sculpture Award and Audubon Artists' Vincent Glinski Award. She has been cited by the Women of Westchester and Sarah Lawrence College, and by the University of Delaware. Nickerson has exhibited her work at the Metropolitan Museum, the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Cocoran Gallery, the Brooklyn Museum, the Jewish Museum and the Pennsylvania Academy, among other venues. She is also represented in the permanent collections of the Newark Museum, the Montclair Museum, the Interchurch Center in New York City, the Cedar Rapids (IA) Museum of Art, post offices in Eden, N.C. and New Brunswick, N.J., as well as in private collections.

Moses at Nebo, 1953
Direct Carving, Alberene Stone, 14" x 14" x 24"
The strength of endurance and fortitude, and aged wisdom, are themes that inspired this sculpture of Moses from the Biblical stories of the Old Testament.

Repose, 1960
Direct Carving, Georgia Marble, 5" x 4" x 10"
The irregular shape and beauty of Georgia marble suggested a quiet pose for this sculpture.

Child's Head, 1934
Direct Carving, Tennessee Limestone, 7" x 8" x 8"
A one-time encounter with a child on the "Hudson tube train" (PATH) inspired Nickerson to create this piece early in her career. "[She was the] complete and perfect example of childish innocence and serene maturity. The emotional impact carried me through the months of stone carving required to recreate those qualities."

Ruth and Naomi, 1935
Plaster, 32" x 15" x 16" Direct Carving, Tennessee Marble, 7" x 8" x 9"
Characters from the Biblical story in the Book of Ruth (Old Testament) inspired the artist to create this sculptural vision of sensitivity and affection.

Miss Solemncholy, 1945
Direct Carving, Indiana Limestone, 4" x 7" x 9"
An unposed impression of the artist's six-year-old daughter Barbara in a serious mood.

Women's Head, 1949
Direct Carving, Indiana Limestone, 13" x 13" x 20"
Based on the image of the well-known American poet Muriel Rukeyser, this piece conveys strength and vitality.

Queen Esther (Hadassah), 1961
Direct Carving, Tennessee Marble, 11" x 11" x 20"
A sculpture of the Jewish wife of King Ahasueris who was willing to sacrifice her life to save her people from annihilation (The Biblical story from the Book of Esther, Old Testament, King James Version). This work asserts qualities of great beauty, dignity and serenity in the face of danger.

Axiom One, 1966
Direct Carving, Tennessee Marble, 13" x 13" x 43"
Based on Confucius' saying, "Within the four seas all men are brothers," the sculpture depicts the commonality of the origins of all humankind amidst racial divisiveness, symbolized by the abstracted female forms of the central figure from which highly simplified heads of four of the races of man emerge.

Freedom Fighter, 1991

Anna, 1986

Marcus Garvey, 1990

GABRIEL KOREN

Sculptures of Hungarian thinkers, writers and historical figures fill the parks and streets in the capital city of Budapest, where sculptor Gabriel Koren was born and raised. As a child she grew up climbing and playing on the sculptures, while asking her grandmother who these people were. A child of artistic parents living in a socialist country, Koren had a multicultural education that piqued her interest in African civilizations and African American art, history and culture. In the '70s she studied with master sculptors at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, earning her Master of Fine Arts diploma in 1977. After a year of study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, she moved to New York City and established a studio in Brooklyn. One thing that struck Koren about New York City was its lack of sculptures of famous African Americans, such as Marcus Garvey, Harriet Tubman, Paul Robeson and John Coltrane. It became her life's work to create monuments that would serve as a tribute to their lives and accomplishments. She gained inspiration for her works by attending history lectures in an African American church in Brooklyn, learning from respected historians in the community. A figurative sculptor, Koren sculpts in clay and plaster, later casting her pieces in bronze. Her works depict both everyday people and great leaders, artists and thinkers of the African diaspora whose lives and work have impacted contemporary life at national and international levels. Koren's goal is to place her sculptures of these legendary leaders permanently in the Harlem and Brooklyn communities. Earning a living by teaching at the National Academy of Design and working as a commercial sculptor for the fashion, display, film and theater industries, Koren began to realize her dream in 1994. After winning a nationwide competition, Koren was commissioned to create the first public sculpture of Malcolm X. The memorial was permanently placed at the site of his assassination, the former Audubon Ballroom (168th Street and Broadway in Manhattan), now the Malcolm X Museum. Koren's sculptures have appeared in 21 group exhibitions in cities including Budapest, New York City and Washington, D.C., and in a solo exhibition at the Richard Anderson Gallery in New York City. In 1996, Koren received the New York City Art Commission's Award for Excellence in Design for her sculpture of Malcolm X.

Anna, 1986
Bronze, 17" x 17" x 35"
This life-size sculpture is the portrait of a Hungarian friend of the artist.

Bob, 1987
Painted Plaster, 7" x 9" x 13"
A bust using a friend of the artist as a model, this sculpture embodies pride and self-possession.

Self Portrait, 1988
Painted Plaster, 7" x 9" x 13"
The artist chose this title because she believes in a humanity common to all people.

Eusi, 1989
Painted Plaster, 21" x 24" x 30"
The struggle for equality and dignity is embodied in this bust of Eusi Kwayana, member of the Guyanese Parliament, and leader of the "Working People's Alliance" of Guyana.

Marcus Garvey, 1990
Painted Plaster, 30" x 32" x 61"
A favorite subject of the artist's, this Jamaican born leader and founder of the African Orthodox Church fought for pride and ethnic identity for Africans in America and the world over.

Freedom Fighter, 1991
Bronze, 10" x 11" x 13"
The model for this piece is an African-American friend of the artist, whose life is dedicated to "fighting for freedom."