Leonardo Nierman Midcentury Modern Abstract Biomorphic Carved Marble Onyx Sculpture

Leonardo Nierman (Mexico, b. 1932) Abstract Bird in Flight, carved onyx, signed lower front “NIERMAN”, lifts out of black marble base. Measures 33in height x about 13in x 4in. Base measures 9in x 9in. Condition: Sculpture portion in excellent condition, base is broken and repaired in several places with chips of missing marble. The base is a simple marble square with the center cut out to hold the bottom of the sculpture. Mexican artist Leonardo Nierman's works often reference the rhythms and harmonies he believes intersects all art forms. This piece finds fluid movements within the rigid onyx stone, creating an abstracted form reminiscent of a bird in flight or a flame rising upwards. Both smooth and fluid, this sculpture seems to float on its marble base with a sense of weightlessness. Nierman's works are full of movement. His works can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City; the Art Institute of Chicago; Vatican Museum of Contemporary Art & Vatican Gardens, Rome; and the Museum of Modern Art in Latin American, Washington, DC. He has painted murals for the School of Commerce of the University City in Mexico,1956; the "Golden West Savings" in San Francisco, 1965; and the Princeton University Physics Building, 1969. Leonardo Nierman's One-Man shows include those at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City in 1972; and in 1973, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Bogota, Columbia, the Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, the the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Madrid, and the Tucson Art Center.