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Bruce Gagnier Discusses Moses Striking the Rock

Sculptor Bruce Gagnier will discuss his work Moses Striking the Rock (2011) in a special talk with Bruce Weber, the National Academy Museum’s Senior Curator of 19th and Early 20th Century Art. A life-size bronze piece commissioned for a private residence, Moses Striking the Rock is on display in the Academy’s rotunda through January 26, 2014 as part of the Museum’s ongoing “Sculpture in the Rotunda” series. The event invites the public to learn about the work directly from the artist himself.

Moses Striking the Rock depicts the Old Testament scene described in Exodus in which God instructs Moses to strike a rock to bring forth water for the Israelites wandering in the desert. The sculpture is exemplary of Gagnier’s method of working from classical subjects but distorting the human figure in an expressive, improvisational fashion. The life-size figure of Moses stands firmly with the staff in his hand, his strained musculature underscoring the intense psychological exertion that his act of faith required. Gagnier achieves this emotion by manipulating the surfaces, playing with the reflection of light with an almost painterly hand.

Inaugurated in 2011, the National Academy’s “Sculpture in the Rotunda” series exhibits large-scale sculpture and installation work in the Academy’s Beaux-Arts rotunda. One of the most attractive architectural spaces in the building, punctuated by a dramatic spiral staircase designed by Ogden Codman, the rotunda takes on a lively tenor when filled with contemporary sculpture. Moses Striking the Rock is presented in conjunction with the Academy’s current exhibition, See It Loud: Seven Post-War American Painters.











When: Fri., Nov. 15, 2013 at 1:30 pm
Where: National Academy School & Museum
5 E. 89th St.
212-369-4880
Price: Free with museum admission
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Sculptor Bruce Gagnier will discuss his work Moses Striking the Rock (2011) in a special talk with Bruce Weber, the National Academy Museum’s Senior Curator of 19th and Early 20th Century Art. A life-size bronze piece commissioned for a private residence, Moses Striking the Rock is on display in the Academy’s rotunda through January 26, 2014 as part of the Museum’s ongoing “Sculpture in the Rotunda” series. The event invites the public to learn about the work directly from the artist himself.

Moses Striking the Rock depicts the Old Testament scene described in Exodus in which God instructs Moses to strike a rock to bring forth water for the Israelites wandering in the desert. The sculpture is exemplary of Gagnier’s method of working from classical subjects but distorting the human figure in an expressive, improvisational fashion. The life-size figure of Moses stands firmly with the staff in his hand, his strained musculature underscoring the intense psychological exertion that his act of faith required. Gagnier achieves this emotion by manipulating the surfaces, playing with the reflection of light with an almost painterly hand.

Inaugurated in 2011, the National Academy’s “Sculpture in the Rotunda” series exhibits large-scale sculpture and installation work in the Academy’s Beaux-Arts rotunda. One of the most attractive architectural spaces in the building, punctuated by a dramatic spiral staircase designed by Ogden Codman, the rotunda takes on a lively tenor when filled with contemporary sculpture. Moses Striking the Rock is presented in conjunction with the Academy’s current exhibition, See It Loud: Seven Post-War American Painters.

Buy tickets/get more info now