Biografie von Herbert FERBER (1906-1991)

Birth place: NYC

Addresses: NYC

Profession: Sculptor, painter, craftsperson

Studied: Beaux-Arts Inst Design, 1927-30; City Col New York; Columbia Univ.

Exhibited: WMAA, 1938-68; MOMA, 1938; AIC, 1940-41; MMA, 1942 (prize); PAFA, 1942-46, 1954, 1958; BMFA, 1945; Betty Parsons, solo shows, 1947, 1953; Kootz Gal., NYC, solo, 1955, 1957; Musée Jeu de Paume; Documenta 5, Kassel, Ger; Walker Art Ctr., 1962; WMAA, 1963 (retrospective); Emmerich Gal., NYC, 1963 (solo); Knoedler Gal., NYC, 1998 (solo)

Member: Am. Ar. Cong.; S. Gld.; Fed. Mod. P. & S.

Work: MMA; WMAA; MoMA; Allbright-Knox Art Gal.; Detroit Inst Art. Commissions: facade sculp., B'Nai Israel Synagogue, Millburn, NJ; copper sculp., John F Kennedy Office Bldg, Boston; environment sculpture, Rutgers Univ Art Gal; plus others.

Comments: Abstract Expressionist sculptor. His early works were direct carvings in wood and stone, becoming more expressionistic after a visit to Europe in 1928. Ferber began working in metal in the mid-1940s, developing an abstract style that incorporated tall, pointed linear forms from which projections emerged. In the 1950s, he explored large sculptural forms that helped to shape the environment, a pursuit he continued into the 1960s. Ferber began to refocus his attention on painting during the 1970s. Teaching: Vis prof sculpture, UPenn, Rutgers, and Bennington Col.

Sources: WW73; WW47; Baigell, Dictionary; Wayne Anderson, The Sculpture of Herbert Ferber (exh. cat., Walker Art Ctr., 1962); Falk, Exh. Record Series.