Alvin Sher

I have had 25 solo shows and works included in more than 200 exhibitions during the past 30 years. My work has been commissioned in Europe and the U.S. and reviewed in international journals and publications.

My interest in astronomy and the environment has led me to create numerous solar and seasonal time measuring devices. The work is listed in the North American Sundial Society Registry. Within my structures, a sun dial gnomon might be incorporated into the image of a hand supporting the device, or a pierced architectural form directs a beam of sun light below indicating both time and the earth’s changing seasonal positions.

The public sculptures use imaginary architectural elements to express our needs and curiosity in today’s world through recognizable structures such as temples and observatories, bringing the viewer into the work, allowing them to use their own imagination while learning about the world they live in.

The sculptures are influenced by both modern and ancient works and executed using traditional media such as bronze, steel, aluminum and iron, employing state of art plasma cutting and heli-arc welding. Computers aid in design, calculations and fabrication, enhancing these homages to ancient structures. Arc welded hands might support a sun dial structure etched with Zodiacal signs.

Historic, environmental and scientific ideas and forms are recreated and transformed through my personal vocabulary. My hand often appears in the works as a signature and symbol of man’s curiosity and greeting.

My works have been in more than 200 exhibitions in the U.S., Europe, Africa and Asia. I am the recipient of a Fulbright Grant and a National Endowment for the Arts Award.

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An Example of Alvin Sher’s Sundials

This sculpture entitled “Primum Mobile” is 8 feet tall and made of welded and brushed stainless steel. The 24 inch diameter Armillary is held in the welded hand and the horizontal ring is embossed with the cardinal compass points. The sculpture/sundial is located on the Avery Point campus of the University of Connecticut, where the compass points locate direction looking out at Long Island Sound, as the Armillary tells the time of day. Alvin Sher designed and fabricated this work in 2002.

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