Callan Contemporary is pleased to present its fifth solo exhibition of critically acclaimed sculptor David
Borgerding. In his dramatic and elegant welded-bronze sculptures, Borgerding draws from a personal
vocabulary of visually and psychologically resonant forms, which speak directly to viewers’ emotional
responsiveness. The sculptures begin their time- and labor-intensive journey from concept to completion as
drawings, which the artist translates first into cardboard maquettes, and then welds hollow-formed sheets of
bronze, often balanced on extraordinarily fine support points— pinpoint fulcrums from which forms appear to
rise or expand in defiance of the laws of physics. As a final touch, he adds richly nuanced patinas and
randomized linear textures, which engage with light and activate the surface.
The recipient of two grants from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, Borgerding earned a B.F.A. degree at
Kendall College of Art and Design and an M.F.A. from Savannah College of Art & Design. He has been
based in New Orleans since 2000. Enthusiastically received in published reviews and well-regarded by arts
professionals, his work has been acquired into important collections throughout the United States, Europe
and Asia, including a recent commission in Shenzhen, China. He possesses a remarkable fluency across a
range of scales, composing with equal ease an intimate tabletop piece or a monumental work such as the
18-foot-tall Volpang, commissioned by the Helis Foundation, and the 23-foot-tall Pangatam, commissioned
by philanthropist Thomas B. Coleman.
Conceived as pure abstraction, the sculptures bypass the rational faculty and appeal to what theorist
Clive Bell called “aesthetic emotion.” Organic but far from earthbound, they appear to hover above their
bases, their buoyancy communicating optimism, their torque and tension resolving into movement and
freedom. Always pushing the boundaries of materials and technique, Borgerding has had a career-long
fascination with “the beauty and mysteriousness of how abstract compositions can work to excite the heart
and stir the soul. It’s an ideal I’m always striving for in my work.”
Coinciding with the exhibition, Callan Contemporary is releasing a 190-page book tracing the
development of Borgerding’s career. As Borislava and Steven Callan write in the book’s foreword, “David’s
tireless work ethic, eye for precision, and sharpened spatial awareness support his drive to explore the
endless possibilities of abstraction...The engineering and attention to detail required to bring about the
sculptures’ fluidity, balance, and seeming effortlessness never fail to arouse a sense of wonder and joy.”
by Richard Speer
