Louise Nevelson Sculpture Now on Display at CF Appleton Museum of Art

The Appleton Museum of Art, College of Central Florida, announces the acquisition and display of an important work by Louise Nevelson, a leading artist of the 20th century. On view for the first time, the relief box is a fine example of her recognizable sculptural interpretations of wood and the natural world and can be seen in the second-floor Modern & Contemporary Galleries through the end of 2022.

Titled “Sun-Set,” the work exemplifies the artist’s fascination with the play of light and shadow on various forms. The piece consists of a black rectangular box with curved, round and other geometric shapes in a grid-like assemblage. These block-like, interlocking forms of various heights are evocative of Central American sculpture that the artist saw on a 1940s visit, which set the creative idealism for the rest of her artistic career.

Born Louise Berliawsky in 1899 Kiev, Ukraine, the artist’s family emigrated to Rockland, Maine, when Louise was 6 years old. Married in 1920 to Charles Nevelson, the artist eventually left the marriage to pursue her artistic career and moved to Germany to study under Hans Hoffman. After her return to the United States, she settled in New York. Following years of poverty and critical neglect, Nevelson gained recognition in the 1950s and focused almost exclusively on her signature abstract sculptural assemblage forms. By the 1960s, she completed numerous high-profile commissions and was featured in important solo shows. Nevelson died in 1988 at the age of 88 as one of the most respected artists of the 20th century.

The Appleton Museum, Artspace and Store are open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. A campus of the College of Central Florida, the Appleton Museum of Art is located at 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, east of downtown on SR 40 (exit 352 east off I-75 or exit 268 west off I-95). Parking is free. For more information, call 352-291-4455 or visit AppletonMuseum.org.