Sea Wall 3

Sea Wall 3

14"H x 14"W x 2"D

Lacquer on resin, wood, hardboard.

(Private collection)

Chair–Blue and White

The blue chair adjacent to the blue painted markings on the sidewalk caught my eye. As chairs are one of my favorite things to photograph, I stopped and took this photo. I composed it to exclude anything of a different color. Please see these other chair photos: Waiting for the Train, and White Chair.

Medusa

Medusa

31"H x 47"W x5"D

Lacquer on resin and hardboard.

A two-part wall sculpture from the 1980s.

Please see; Eros Lost in the Wilderness, The Sun King, Liberty at the Barricades, Sebastian    

Sebastian

Sebastian

30"H x 36"W x 5"D

Lacquer on resin, wood, hardboard, wire mesh.

(Private collection)

Another 1980s wall sculpture.

Please see; The Sun King, Eros Lost in the Wilderness, Liberty at the Barricades.

Liberty at the Barricades

Liberty at the Barricades

35"H x 47"W x 5"D

Lacquer on resin, wood, hardboard.

The figure in this piece is modeled after the one in the 1830 painting, Liberty Leading the People, by Eugène Delacroix. This is another of the wall sculptures I made in the 1980s. Please see, The Sun King, and Eros Lost in the wilderness.

Aegean Night

Aegean Night

20"H x 20"W x 5"D

Lacquer on resin, wood, hardboard, wire.

Another 1980s wall sculpture. Please see; The Sun King, Eros Lost in the Wilderness.

Construction

Construction

72"H x 96"W x 48"D

Lacquer on plywood.

This is one of my earlier sculptures, made before I began to incorporate figurative and cultural elements. It was exhibited in a show at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, back when it was an independent institution.

Graveyard Shift

When traveling I will often visit local cemeteries. As I wander among the stones and markers, reading the names and dates of the departed, I feel more connected to the history of the place, to the families that, over time, created the community. 

Still Life–Eggs/Moth

When I had my own darkroom, and was splashing about with chemicals, I loved the richness of continuous-tone black and white prints. The ease and capabilities of digital photography are astonishing but, for me, some of the magic is now lost. However, I still enjoy photographing many things, including setups of objects.

Three Horses in Virginia

This photo was taken in what was at that time rural Virginia,

 but has now become Tysons Corners.

I learned to ride when I was a lad and belonged to the 

Junior Essex Troop in New Jersey. This organization was like the Boy Scouts 

but with horses and guns. We rode, cleaned the horses and tack, mucked out the

 stalls, fed and watered the horses, shot at targets with rifles, and marched 

around in our uniforms. The experience gave me a fondness for horses 

that I still feel, but not so much for uniforms or marching. 

Me at age 11, not sure how old Black Satin was.

Two Geishas in Kyoto

The limited palette, of predominantly red, black, and gray, plus the relationship of the figure to the poster, really intrigued me.

Washington Post 1967

In the late 1960s I was a partner in the design firm

tasi gelberg symons+associates. This article about the firm—actually a fashion spread—was in the Washington Post’s Sunday magazine Potomac. I’m at far left in the photo, with my foot on the bumper of my car, a 1934 Plymouth. 

Portrait Sketch

Remember back in the day, when museums were open to the general public? At that time the Luce Center, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in DC, held drawing sessions on Tuesday afternoons. Anyone could come and sketch works in the Luce collection. This is a drawing I made of a 1898 portrait bust of Ellen Goin Rionde by Laura Dreyfus Barney. I tried to make her eyes more lifelike which, I think, gives the sketch an unsettling aspect.

Lost Glove in the Age of Covid-19

Photographing lost gloves has become an obsession (please see my posts for April 14 and 15). I now have hundreds of photos of lost gloves. 

This one was taken in the Metro in DC. 

There is something particularly poignant about a glove for protection being lost.

Le Roi Soleil/The Sun King

Le Roi Soleil/The Sun King

Lacquer on resin, wood, and hardboard.

43"H x 59"W x 9"D

This is another wall sculpture I made in the 1980s. (See posts for April 9th and 11th)

Being enamored of most things French, especially French art, history, life, and of course chausson aux pommes, I decided to create a work based on Louis XIV. My bust of Louis is modeled after an 18th century bronze at the National Gallery of Art in DC. This, in turn, was modeled after a marble by Bernini created in 1665. The panel contains Louis' last words to his successor, Louis XV, his great-grandson. In part he said, "Don't go to war as much as I did; be a peaceful prince."

Lost Glove

While walking to my studio one morning back in February of 2004, I noticed a child’s glove lying on the sidewalk. The relationship of the bright red glove to the joints of the sidewalk created an interesting composition. I took a photograph of the glove and went on my way. After this I began to notice other lost gloves and would photograph them. Early on I established a couple of ground rules for myself. The first rule was that the glove, or anything else near it, could not be touched or moved in any way. The second rule limited any post processing to minor cropping, a little tonal adjustment, and sharpening if necessary. Photographing lost gloves became an obsession. I now have hundreds of photos of lost gloves.

Lost Glove

While walking to my studio one morning back in February of 2004 I noticed a child’s glove lying on the sidewalk. The relationship of the bright red glove to the joints of the sidewalk created an interesting composition. I took a photograph of the glove and went on my way. After this I began to notice other lost gloves and would photograph them. Early on I established a couple of ground rules for myself. The first rule was that the glove, or anything else near it, could not be touched or moved in any way. The second rule limited any post processing to minor cropping, a little tonal adjustment, and sharpening if necessary. Photographing lost gloves became an obsession. I now have hundreds of photos of lost gloves.

Joy

A photo of a large steel plate, in the street, covering a hole dug by a utility crew.

Trying to find joy in these corroded times.

Resurrection

Eros Lost in the Wilderness (detail)

Eros in progress. 

(See April 9th post for final sculpture)

At this point in the process, working in clay, I had almost finished the figure of Eros. The next step was to develop the clouds. When all of the clay elements were completed, I made a plaster mold in which to cast the resin. The resin cast was then painted with lacquer.

Pray For The Souls

In an Irish graveyard. Especially now, an appropriate sentiment.

Eros Lost in the Wilderness

Eros Lost in the Wilderness

lacquer on resin

20" x 21" x 2" 

(private collection)

This is one of the wall pieces I did in the late 1980s, and, when shown in Washington, DC Touchstone Gallery exhibition Sculpture for Walls, it received one of my best reviews.

“The strongest work was that of James Symons. His lacquer on resin reliefs, such as Eros Lost in the Wilderness, effectively combine classical and Neo-Expressionist references with a conceptual underpinning. A classical putto—referring to Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise—flies through puffy baroque clouds across the top; expressionist chaos changes the lower half of the painting. In the center is an image of a city flying apart; a row of spikes marches across the bottom. Potent both formally and conceptually, the piece works well in the small format.”

Susan Platt, New Art Examiner

Baguette Series, Image #6

While living in a small town in France, Saint Cyprien, I took a series of photographs

of a baguette, from our favorite bakery, placed in interesting facades around town.

(These images are available as 5"x7" greeting cards)

Baguette Series, Image #11

While living in a small town in France, Saint Cyprien, I took a series of photographs

of a baguette, from our favorite bakery, placed in interesting facades around town.

(These images are available as 5"x7" greeting cards)

Baguette Series, Image #1

While living in a small town in France, Saint Cyprien, I took a series of photographs

of a baguette, from our favorite bakery, placed in interesting facades around town.

(These images are available as 5"x7" greeting cards)

Corrugated Cardboard Chair

I've always had a passion for corrugated cardboard. Peculiar, I know, but everyone has their quirks, right? Anyway, I have designed several pieces of furniture using it as a structural material. Back in the early 1970s, I created this chair made from a single sheet 

of corrugated cardboard which is scored, slit, and folded.

It is surprisingly sturdy for a cardboard chair.