Richard Serra

Richard Serra (November 2, 1938 – March 26, 2024) was an American sculptor whose massive, abstract works were designed for specific landscapes, cities, and buildings. Often linked to postminimalism, he was called "one of his era's greatest sculptors" and was known for focusing on the physical qualities of his materials and how viewers, the artwork, and its location interact. Serra started studying English literature at the University of California, Berkeley, then switched to visual art. He earned a BA in English literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1961, where he met muralists Rico Lebrun and Howard Warshaw.

To support himself, he worked in steel mills, which shaped his later work. He went on to Yale, earning a BA in art history and an MFA in 1964. While in Paris on a Yale fellowship that same year, he became friends with composer Philip Glass and spent time in Constantin Brâncuși's studio—both experiences strongly influenced him.

Early work

His time in Europe also pushed him from painting into sculpture. From the mid-1960s, especially after moving to New York City in 1966, Serra worked to expand what sculpture could be. He started with rubber, neon, and lead, then moved to large steel pieces. Early New York works like To Lift (1967) and Thirty-Five Feet of Lead Rolled Up (1968) showed his interest in industrial materials and their physical properties.

His large-scale works in cities and nature changed how people interact with public art, though they sometimes sparked controversy, like Tilted Arc in Manhattan (1981). Serra was married to artist Nancy Graves from 1965 to 1970, and to Clara Weyergraf from 1981 until his death in 2024. Serra was born in San Francisco on November 2, 1938, to Tony and Gladys Serra, the second of three sons. His father was Spanish from Mallorca; his mother Gladys (née Fineberg) was the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants from Odessa.

Early life and education

His mother encouraged him to draw from a young age, and he carried a small notebook for sketches. She would introduce him as "Richard the artist." His father worked as a pipe fitter at a shipyard near San Francisco. Serra recalled visiting the shipyard at age four to see a boat launch. He watched the ship transform from a huge weight into a floating structure, later saying, "All the raw material that I needed is contained in the reserve of this memory." His father, who was related to Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, later became a candy plant foreman.

Serra studied English literature at UC Berkeley in 1957, then transferred to UC Santa Barbara, graduating in 1961 with a BA in English Literature. There he met muralists Rico Lebrun and Howard Warshaw, who mentored him. During this time, and from ages 16 to 25, he worked in steel mills to earn a living.

He studied painting at Yale, earning a BA in art history and an MFA in 1964. Fellow Yale alumni included Chuck Close, Rackstraw Downs, Nancy Graves, Brice Marden, and Robert Mangold. At Yale, he met visiting New York School artists like Philip Guston, Robert Rauschenberg, Ad Reinhardt, and Frank Stella. He taught a color theory course in his last year and later helped proof Josef Albers’s book Interaction of Color.

In 1964, Serra received a one-year Yale traveling fellowship to Paris, where he met composer Philip Glass, a longtime friend and collaborator. In Paris, he sketched in Constantin Brâncuși’s studio, which was partially reconstructed inside the Musée national d'Art moderne, and later drew his own sculptural conclusions. An exact replica of Brâncuși’s studio now sits opposite the Centre Pompidou. Serra spent 1965 in Florence on a Fulbright Grant.

In 1966, while still in Italy, he visited the Prado in Madrid and saw Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas. Realizing he could not surpass that painting, he decided to move away from painting. While in Europe, Serra began experimenting with nontraditional sculptural materials. He had his first solo exhibition, "Animal Habitats," at Galleria Salita in Rome, featuring assemblages with live and stuffed animals—later seen as early Arte Povera work.

Serra returned from Europe and moved to New York City in 1966. He continued using experimental materials like rubber, latex, fiberglass, neon, and lead. His Belt Pieces used rubber strips hung on walls, with gravity as a forming tool.

He combined neon with rubber strips in Belts (1966–67), referencing Jackson Pollock’s Mural (1963). Around this time, he wrote Verb List (1967), a list of transitive verbs (cast, roll, tear, prop, etc.) that served as directives for his sculptures. Works like To Lift (1967), Thirty-Five Feet of Lead Rolled Up (1968), Splash Piece (1968), and Casting (1969) came from this list. Serra used lead in many of these pieces.