Recently installed at TurnPark Art Space, the aluminum sculpture 4 the 5th (of Beethoven), created in 1972, became an inspiration for the artist's following body of work, called the Hellenic Series. Charles Ginnever’s Hellenic Series draws directly from established mythological frameworks, using classical reference as a site of formal inquiry through a series of folded steel plates assembled into increasingly complex fractal compositions. Ginnever often used finished sculptures as a springboard to start the next project. The exhibit showcases the artist’s searching for the next direction using drawings, geometric studies, and steel models. Experimenting with geometries first explored in the Linear Series and inspired by the shadows of Stonehenge, which he visited in 1974, Ginnever draws and re-draws the already-created sculptures to push the expressive qualities of steel. The resulting body of work, shadows that come to life, swell up and twist, all while harking back to the archaic origins of Minoan and Greek myths.
An internationally recognized artist, Charles Ginnever (1931 – 2019), initially trained under Ossip Zadkine in the early 50’s at the Acedémie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. He completed his artistic training in 1959 with a Master's in Fine Arts from Cornell University. Ginnever’s prolific career spans over six decades, and from his earliest works to his last, he consistently challenged viewers’ notions of perspective, both Western and Non-Western. Ginnever has exhibited widely over his long career in prestigious galleries and museums around the world. His work can be found in many private and public collections and sculpture parks around the country, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, Storm King, and The Smithsonian.