Roy Gussow
Tulsa Convention Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[1]
BiographyEarly lifeGussow was born in Jewish.[2] He enrolled at Farmingdale State College originally intending to pursue a career as a farmer, but switched majors and earned a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture in 1938.[1]
SculptorHe joined the cubist sculptor Alexander Archipenko.[1] Archipenko took Gussow to Woodstock, New York, in 1946, where he attended summer school.[1] He met his future wife, Mary Maynard, while in Woodstock.[1]
Gussow taught sculpture and art at Bradley University in Illinois, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and the North Carolina State University School of Design, now known as the College of Design, in Raleigh, North Carolina, as well as at The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania.[1][3] He returned to New York City, settling in Manhattan in 1962.[1] In 1964, Gussow moved to Long Island City, becoming one of the first artists to take up residence in what was then an industrial section of the Queens neighborhood. Gussow created both his home and sculpture studio inside a former silver plating factory.[1] He resided and worked in Long Island City for the rest of his life. WorksGussow created In 1974, Gussow's "Three Forms 7-31-75" was dedicated outside of the Leonard Streets in the Civic Center section of Lower Manhattan. The eight-feet tall sculpture, which has a mirror stainless steel finish like many of Russow's public works, stands on a two-foot base constructed of granite.[1] The sculpture was removed in 2010 for restoration.[1]
Gussow also created "Crystal," which was placed outside of city hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1983.[1] Gussow designed "Crystal" as six "wedge-shaped facets" which reflect clouds as they float over the city of Harrisburg.[1] This particular sculpture stands at seventeen feet tall.[1] Some examples of Gussow's other public sculptures can be found at Roy Gussow died of a heart attack in Queens, New York, on February 11, 2011, at the age of 92.[1] His wife, Mary, died in 2004.[1] He was survived by three daughters – Jill, Mimi and Olga – two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.[1] His daughter, Jill Gussow, is also an artist.[2] References
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