An aluminum sculpture painted black. Its curvilinear shape somewhat resembles the letter "C."

Free Standing Form

Artist Conrad Marca-Relli (American, 1913 - 2000)

Date1961

Mediumpainted aluminum

Dimensions12 1/2 × 8 × 3 1/4 inches (31.8 × 20.3 × 8.3 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Dwight H. Emanuelson.

Object number1999.13.3

On View

On view

Copyright© Archivio Marca-Relli, Parma. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextConrad Marca-Relli was born in Boston to Italian parents in 1913. Well-travelled and educated at the Cooper Union Institute in New York, he also served in the Army during World War II. In New York, Marca-Relli was a founding member of the Eighth Street Club along with other early primary figures of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Marca-Relli believed abstraction should be emotionally moving, and he used psychologically affecting shapes and textures to evoke emotions. Marca-Relli took a constructive approach to image-making, building up surfaces by cutting out and applying shapes to canvas or metal supports. Marca-Relli is best-known for elevating the status of collage in art to its current status, where it now carries its own formal and emotive qualities.