In the 1920s, Chicago-native Storrs produced about twenty architectonic sculptures in various sizes and materials that emulated the geometric lines of Art Deco skyscrapers. With these works, he sought to create "an expression of today" equivalent to "that strength and will to power, that poise and simplicity" that he perceived in modern buildings. These sculptures experiment with volume and space, the balance of vertical and horizontal masses, and the play of light on polished surfaces.
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the artist (until d. 1956; his estate, 1956–67; sold through the Downtown Gallery, New York to MMA)
New York. Downtown Gallery. "John Storrs," March 23–April 17, 1965, brochure no. 26 (as "Forms in Space #1," 1926).
Washington, D.C. Corcoran Gallery of Art. "John Storrs: A Retrospective Exhibition," May 2–June 9, 1969, no catalogue.
Indianapolis Museum of Art. "Treasures from the Metropolitan," October 25, 1970–January 3, 1971, no. 38.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "20th Century Accessions, 1967–1974," March 7–April 23, 1974, no catalogue.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. "John Storrs (1885–1956), a Retrospective Exhibition of Sculpture," November 13, 1976–January 2, 1977, unnumbered cat. (p. 18).
Bloomington. Indiana University Art Museum. "John Storrs (1885–1956), a Retrospective Exhibition of Sculpture," January 18–February 20, 1977, unnumbered cat.
College Park. University of Maryland Art Gallery. "John Storrs (1885–1956), a Retrospective Exhibition of Sculpture," March 29–May 1, 1977, unnumbered cat.
Williamstown, Mass. Sterling and Francine Clark Institute. "John Storrs & John Flannagan: Sculpture & Works on Paper," November 7–December 28, 1980, no. 14.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. "The 1920s: Age of the Metropolis," June 20–November 10, 1991, no. 609.
London. Victoria and Albert Museum. "Art Deco 1910–1939," March 27–July 20, 2003, unnumbered cat. (pl. 9.13).
Toronto. Royal Ontario Museum. "Art Deco 1910–1939," September 15, 2003–January 4, 2004, unnumbered cat.
California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Art Deco 1910–1939," March 13–July 5, 2004, unnumbered cat.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Art Deco 1910–1939," September 19, 2004–January 9, 2005, unnumbered cat.
Boston Athenaeum. "John Storrs, Machine-Age Modernist," May 12–September 3, 2010.
West Palm Beach, Fla. Norton Museum of Art. "John Storrs, Machine-Age Modernist," October 2, 2010–January 2, 2011.
Grey Art Gallery, New York University. "John Storrs, Machine-Age Modernist," April 12–July 9, 2011.
Edward Bryant. "Rediscovery: John Storrs." Art in America 57 (May–June 1969), ill. p. 66, locates it with the Downtown Gallery, New York.
David Mannweiler. "Museum Opener is 'Metropolitan' Show." Indianapolis News (September 19, 1970), p. 9.
Abraham A. Davidson. "John Storrs, Early Sculptor of the Machine Age." Artforum 13 (November 1974), ill. p. 41 (color), calls it "Forms in Space".
Henry Geldzahler in "Twentieth Century Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Notable Acquisitions, 1965–1975. New York, 1975, p. 222, ill.
Lowery Stokes Sims. The Figure in 20th Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., Jacksonville Art Museum. New York, 1984, p. 18.
Noel Frackman. John Storrs. Exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, 1986, p. 74, fig. 83, calls it "Forms in Space".
Joan M. Marter inAmerican Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Thayer Tolles. Vol. 2, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1865 and 1885. New York and New Haven, 2001, pp. 778–79, no. 392, ill. (color).
Christine Tremin. "Back to the Future." Boston Globe (August 20, 2004), p. C13, ill.
Debra Bricker Balken. John Storrs: Machine-Age Modernist. Exh. cat., Boston Athenaeum. Boston, 2010, pp. 50, 100, no. 30, ill. p. 90 (color).
Jan Sjostrom. "Sculptor on 'Ground Floor' of Modernist Movement." Palm Beach Daily News (October 25, 2010), pp. 1, 3, ill. (color).
"Machine-age Artworks on Display at Norton." Palm Beach Post (October 1, 2010), ill. p. 25, calls it "Forms in Space, Number 1" and dates it 1927.
Charles Ray (American, born Chicago, Illinois, 1953)
2019
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