About the Exhibition
St. John’s Rotary Arc and T.W.U. by Richard Serra (b.1939, San Francisco, CA) are constructed of Corten steel. Both works beautifully exemplify how Serra combines raw physical energy and an acutely refined intellect.
Arc, which reveals a fresh departure in the artist’s work to date, consists of 12’ x 40’ steel plates, which form a 200’ arc at the St. John’s Rotary (at the exit from the Holland Tunnel). Weighing 110 tons, the piece was fabricated at the Sun Shipyard in Chester, Pennsylvania under the patronage of Leo Castelli. The piece required five flatbed trucks to transport it to New York City.
T.W.U. stands four blocks away from Arc, installed at the entrance to the Franklin Street subway station. The work, sponsored by Alexander von Berswordt-Wallrabe, Galerie m, Bochum, West Germany, consists of three 2.75”-thick steel plates. Each plate measures 12’ x 36’. T.W.U. weighs 72 tons.