A monumental Robert Murray sculpture now adorns the campus of Carleton University. Entitled Tundra (for Barnett Newman), the impressive piece of art was transferred to Carleton from the National Defence Headquarters in downtown Ottawa.
The sculpture will be officially unveiled at its new location on the lawn between the St. Patrick’s Building and Leeds House Residence adjacent to the Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG) on Wednesday, October 4 at 5:30 pm. Carleton President Dr. David Atkinson and Robert Murray will be present at the ceremony, which will be followed by a reception at CUAG in the St. Patrick’s building.
“Tundra is a great piece, and I knew that Carleton’s beautiful, green spaces would offer a fitting location for an outdoor sculpture of this size,” said Diana Nemiroff, Director of CUAG. “I am delighted that Robert Murray chose Carleton as Tundra’s new home as he is one of Canada’s most respected living sculptors.”
Nemiroff also noted that she couldn’t keep the sculpture a secret until its unveiling. “It’s way too big and way too prominent,” she admitted. “And now, it has been given a whole new facelift.”
Discussions about the transfer of Tundra to Carleton began last May when Robert Murray contacted Nemiroff to inquire whether CUAG might be able to offer a new home for the sculpture on campus. “Of course, we jumped at the opportunity,” said Nemiroff. In order to make way for a planned security perimeter around the DND Headquarters building and in consultation with Murray, the Government of Canada agreed to transfer ownership of the sculpture to Carleton over the summer. The Government originally purchased Tundra from the artist in 1972.
Robert Murray was born in Vancouver in 1936 and raised in Saskatoon. He studied at the University of Saskatchewan School of Art from 1955 to 1958. There he met the New York-based abstract expressionist Barnett Newman, whose interest in the northern landscape later inspired the title of Tundra. In 1960, Murray moved to New York, where he maintained a studio until 1994. He now lives near Unionville, Pennsylvania, and has a summer residence and studio on Lookout Island, Pointe au Baril, Ontario. Murray is well known in North America for his monumental abstract sculptures of painted steel and aluminum. His work is represented in many public collections, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1999, the National Gallery of Canada organized a major retrospective of his sculpture. Tundra (for Barnett Newman) is one of two outdoor sculptures by Murray in the National Capital region. The other (Split, 1973) is located on the grounds of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau.
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For further information:
Diana Nemiroff, Director
Carleton University Art Gallery
(613) 520-2600, ext. 1355
Diana_nemiroff@carleton.ca
Lin Moody, Media Relations Officer
Carleton University
(613) 520-2600, ext. 8705
lin_moody@carleton.ca
Thursday, September 28, 2006 in News Releases
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