Mark Gibian
Email: Mark@MarkGibian.com
Website: markgibian.com
Medium: metal, kinetic, functional, play structure, wall sculpture, freestanding sculpture
Artist Statement
I completed two major high profile public art commissions in New York City in 2008, (the “Serpentine Structures” for the Hudson River Park, and “Crescendo” for the end of a new pier off Williamsburg, Brooklyn.) These have been well received and both consist of several works creating an installation one experiences over time. I envisioned a system of curvilinear truss sculptures with primary curving pipes and triangulated secondary cross pieces which stiffen the whole structure. I admired trusses which could span long spans with minimal steel. I wanted to make evocative forms using curved trusses. This system worked well on these and on my current project. “Crescendo” is a 30 foot crescent shaped stainless steel shade structure on the East River, with woven stainless conveyor belt mesh clothing the structure and providing a seating surface for the related cantilevered crescent bench sculpture below. The three “Serpentine Structures” are displayed in linear progression as one walks along the Hudson River Park’s Tribeca segment. One forms a 30 foot undulating arch, one is a loveseat and the other is a cantilever. Vines are planted below which will eventually clothe the skeletal structure and provide shade in the summer.
My most recent public work is a large steel curvilinear truss spiral sculpture, “Vortex”, (2016) which hangs on three cables in the center of a glass and steel stairway /atrium of a new science building at West High in Anchorage, Alaska. The spiral form was chosen because it is pervasive in nature and the sciences, and echoes the surrounding stair and lobby.
Another significant commission was “Cable Crossing” in the Brooklyn Bridge MTA Station. Working with site architect William Conklin, I devised a system of stretched cable units in massive frames. The primary cables are held in position by the tension of the secondary cables pulling on them. The cable was chosen as a tribute to Roebling and his design for the Brooklyn Bridge, which is suspended just outside the station on his innovative cabling.
When selected for a commission I study the location and brainstorm possibilities, based on necessities of the site and input from stakeholders. Drawings lead to scale models: generally in welded wire. Engineers approve and help guide the design. I fabricate my own commissions in order to control the entire process. Solutions are based on my interests combined with site requirements. I am interested in structure and steel is my specialty. Other interests are functional art and slumped glass with ribbed steel structures. I studied in Barcelona , Spain in order to be around the masterpieces of Gaudi. His organic and evocative forms influenced me and are part of my artistic vocabulary. I spent years in NYC with a sculptor partner fabricating architectural steel staircases and railings for the uppermost clients. We learned a lot together about metalworking and business, while executing custom artistic railings for the Hearst mansion and other top clients.
I have been creating a series of smaller works which are drawing in space with curved steel lines. Labor intensive forged steel tapered lines form calligraphic gestures reminiscent of Celtic woven patterns. The larger works influence the smaller works and vice versa.