Tony Smith Catalogue Raisonné: Volume 1: Sculpture

Documenting the extraordinary breadth of sculptural production by American artist Tony Smith (1912-1980), this comprehensive book reveals the depth and complexity of Smith’s oeuvre as well as the vast range of his intellectual pursuits.

Tony Smith Catalogue Raisonné Sculpture, with more than 500 full-color illustrations, is the first in a multi-publication project to reveal the depth and complexity of Smith’s oeuvre while positioning its transdisciplinary nature in dialogue with contemporary voices. Often made of steel and painted black, Smith’s large-scale sculptures demonstrate a committed experimentation in how geometric shapes can be modeled into holistic sculptural compositions. The ever-shifting qualities of his imposing works engage spectators in phenomenological experiences that continually change in relation to motion, position, sightline, and perspective, amid a panoply of shapes that generate and regenerate anew with each incremental shift in viewpoint.

Born in South Orange, New Jersey, Tony Smith (1912-1980) occupies an important place in the history of twentieth-century art and design. His intellectual and creative pursuits, encompassing sculpture, architecture, drawing, painting, and writing, were informed by his close study of biology, mathematics, philosophy, and literature, blending the improvisational with the analytical. His artistic process was both intellectual and instinctual relying upon rational structures inherent in polygonal forms, complemented by creative intuition, to shape his visions into what may be considered irrational objects--sculptures.

This volume serves as a comprehensive record of Smith’s sculpture, providing an archival foundation for future study, interpretation, and analysis. A companion book, Against Reason: Tony Smith, Sculpture, and Other Modernisms, is published alongside to explore the ongoing vitality of Tony Smith, with newly commissioned essays and artist projects by practitioners working in a range of visual arts. These books will, for the first time, capture the depth, influence, and diversity of Smith’s understudied oeuvre, establishing new ground for future interpretations and readings of his monumental work.

James Voorhies is a curator and historian of modern and contemporary art based in New York. He is the author of Postsensual Aesthetics and Beyond Objecthood: The Exhibition as a Critical Form since 1968 (both MIT Press), and has taught at Bennington College and Harvard University.
Sarah Auld has served as Director of the Tony Smith Estate since 1990.