Chaim Gross, Three Acrobats on a Unicycle, 1957, bronze, 76 1⁄2 x 14 1⁄2 x 14 1⁄2 in. (194.3 x 36.8 x 36.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chaim and Renee Gross, 1969.172
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Three Acrobats on a Unicycle
- Artist
- Founder
- Fonderia Nicci
- Date
- 1957
- Location
- Dimensions
- 76 1⁄2 x 14 1⁄2 x 14 1⁄2 in. (194.3 x 36.8 x 36.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Chaim and Renee Gross
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- bronze
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Figure group — female
- Performing arts — circus — acrobat
- Object Number
- 1969.172
Artwork Description
Over one quarter of Chaim Gross's sculptures are of acrobats and are based on the itinerant performers he saw as a child. Gross put his figures in nearly impossible physical positions because he believed that stacking more than two on top of one another offered more possibilities for interesting silhouettes and compositions. The stocky, muscular athletes in Three Acrobats on a Unicycle together create the illusion of a spire lifting weightlessly into the air.