George Rickey Foundation

George Rickey Foundation The George Rickey Foundation advances appreciation and understanding of the life and work of artist George Rickey (1907-2002).

08/28/2026

“Usually, small sculptures are not maquettes. They are simply small sculptures with their own rights to be considered sculptures. I am happiest when I work on a scale where I can do it all myself, because then I am free at any point to change, modify, add, crop out—without having to go through an administrative process telling others to do that.” – George Rickey
___________
Clip of “George Rickey: Portrait of an Artist,” 1987. Directed by Seth Schneidman. Seven Hills Production.

Find George Rickey’s “Two Lines in a T Six Feet” in the Ogunquit Museum Of American Art’s special exhibition “American C...
08/20/2026

Find George Rickey’s “Two Lines in a T Six Feet” in the Ogunquit Museum Of American Art’s special exhibition “American Conversations,” on view through November 15, 2026!
◽
In light of the United States’ 250th anniversary of its founding, the exhibition examines how artists have contributed to the ongoing dialogue surrounding the idea of “America” over the past 125 years. Each section pairs two works of art, inviting viewers to consider how artists across generations and backgrounds engage with themes central to American identity and experience.
In the introduction to the exhibition, the Museum pairs George Rickey (1907–2002) with Alexander Calder (1898–1976). What Calder set in motion with his mobiles, Rickey pushed even further in the field of kinetic sculpture.
“I had to wonder whether Calder had said it all; when I found he had not, I had to choose among the many doors I then found open. I had to learn to be a mechanic and to recall the physics I had learned at sixteen. I had to make an art in which every object had to be preconceived.”
– George Rickey, 1979
◽
Learn more about the exhibition at https://ogunquitmuseum.org/exhibition/american-conversations/.
_______________
Installation view of “American Conversations,” Ogunquit Museum of American Art. Photo by Luc Demers.

50 years ago in 1976, George Rickey’s six foot sculpture “Two Open Rectangles, Excentric Variation III” was stolen fro...
08/14/2026

50 years ago in 1976, George Rickey’s six foot sculpture “Two Open Rectangles, Excentric Variation III” was stolen from Middlebury College sometime in the night from its setting in front of the Christian Johnson Memorial Building after being installed for just a week. Rickey remade the sculpture in 1978 as it was never returned nor found, but he decided to send a replacement to Middlebury College at an even larger scale of twelve feet to make it twice as hard to steal. The new piece, “Two Open Rectangles Excentric VI, Square Section,” stands today back in front of the Johnson Memorial Building.
◽
(Thieves if you’re reading this and your conscience has been nagging at you these 50 years, let us know where it is pretty please?)
______________________
(1) Newspaper clipping from The Middlebury Campus Newspaper, Volume LXXI, Issue 2, September 29, 1976.
(2) George Rickey, “Two Open Rectangles Excentric VI, Square Section,” 1976. Stainless Steel. Collection of the Middlebury College Museum of Art, Vermont. Purchase with funds provided by the Friends of Art Acquisition Fund and a matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1977.002. Photo by Middlebury College Museum of Art.

08/04/2026

Conical movement, otherwise known as excentric movement, is created by sculpture elements set at a 45-degree angle to the support post. After George Rickey began exploring excentric movement, he created sculptures with elements whose movements describe a conical form.
“I had already explored the conical movement of a line. With (these pieces) I made the line describe a surface.”
– “Two Conical Segments, 1978-79, George Rickey in Berlin,” Berlinische Galerie, 1992, p. 233
________________
George Rickey, “Two Conical Segments Gyratory Gyratory IV – Homage to W.A.M., Duisburg,” 1980. Stainless steel. LehmbruckMuseum, Duisburg, Germany. Video by Marin Sulllivan, 2026.

07/26/2026

Wishing you balance when things feel all wobbly.
______________
George Rickey, “Double Wobble,” 2000. Stainless steel. George Rickey Estate.

“I could try and reduce the elements to their simplest possible essence. And it is that which has led me to using linear...
07/19/2026

“I could try and reduce the elements to their simplest possible essence. And it is that which has led me to using linear forms, to try to eliminate everything that is not contributing to the movement.”
– George Rickey, quoted in Jeanne Siegal, “Artwords: Discourse on the 60s and 70s” (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1985).
________________
Photo of George Rickey by Carl Howard, 1967. George Rickey Foundation archives.

07/13/2026

Spend extended time with George Rickey sculptures both outdoors and indoors at Field Farm, a Trustees of Reservations property in Williamstown, MA!
◽
Take a day trip to the Berkshires to watch “Peristyle II” sway in the breeze and hike the nearby trails, or make a reservation to stay in the newly opened “The Folly,” a three-bedroom, pinwheel-shaped shingled guest cottage, designed in 1965 by noted modernist architect Ulrich Franzen, featuring a delicate hanging sculpture by George Rickey.
◽
Learn more and plan your visit to Field Farm at https://thetrustees.org/place/field-farm-guest-house/.
__________________
George Rickey, stainless steel:
(1) “Peristyle II: Three Lines,” 1966. Collection of the George Rickey Estate on loan to Field Farm / Trustees of Reservations.
(2) “Eight Lines III – Sketch for Twenty-Four Lines,” 1963. Collection of Williams College on loan to Field Farm / Trustees of Reservations.

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of Bicentennial Celebration exhibition “Sculpture 76” in Greenwich, Connecticut, ...
07/07/2026

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of Bicentennial Celebration exhibition “Sculpture 76” in Greenwich, Connecticut, and the 30th anniversary of “Two Lines Up Oblique” coming to the Greenwich Library!
◽
The 1976 exhibition was held by the Greenwich Arts Council to honor 200 years of the founding of the United States by paying tribute to the creative spirit of the present through fifteen prominent living artists. George Rickey’s work stood alongside pieces by Tony Smith, Alexander Calder, Willem deKooning, Richard Serra, and others from June to October, 1976.
◽
Today, Rickey’s work continues to hold a presence in Greenwich at the Greenwich Library, which acquired “Two Lines Oblique IV” in 1996.
________________
(1) George Rickey, “Two Lines Up Oblique,” 1977. Stainless steel. Edition 3/3. Greenwich Library, Greenwich, Connecticut.
(2) George Rickey, “Two Lines Oblique IV,” 1969–73. Stainless steel. Reproduction from 1973 exhibition catalog “Sculpture 76: An Outdoor Exhibition by Fifteen Living American Artists,” Greenwich Arts Council.
(3) Detail of pamphlet for “Sculpture 76: An Outdoor Exhibition by Fifteen Living American Artists,” Greenwich Arts Council.

06/21/2026

A warm and moving scene to celebrate the in the Northern Hemisphere!
☀️
_____________
George Rickey, “Double L Excentric Gyratory II,” 1981. Stainless steel. Edition 3/3. Williams College, Williamstown, MA.

Won’t you be my neighbor? ◽_____________George Rickey, “Neighbors,” 1960. Stainless steel and enamel. Private collection...
06/14/2026

Won’t you be my neighbor? ◽
_____________
George Rickey, “Neighbors,” 1960. Stainless steel and enamel. Private collection.

Address

18111 Nordhoff St
Northridge, CA
91330-8385

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when George Rickey Foundation posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category