Ed Fraga
Artist
Sergio De Giusti
(Italian-American, born 1941)
Date1983
MediumPaint on hydrocal relief
Dimensions31 1/2 × 20 × 7 in. (80 × 50.8 × 17.8 cm)
ClassificationsWall Relief
Object numberUAC6870
DescriptionSergio de Giusti is an Italian born Detroit sculptor. He received his BFA (1966) and his MFA (1968) from Wayne State University. De Giusti is a very important figure in the history of Detroit sculpture. He has taught art history and studio art courses at Wayne State and sculpture at the Center of Creative Studies-College of Art and Design in Detroit and at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center in Birmingham, Michigan. De Giusti has also been a visiting artist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the University of Wisconsin in Madison. His work has been displayed in museums across the United States and Europe: The Detroit Institute of Arts; The Newark Museum; The Tampa Museum; The Smithsonian; The Minnesota Museum of Art; The Institute of Cultures in Zacatecas, Mexico; The British Museum in London, England; The Council of Cultural Affairs in Stockholm, Sweden and The Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest, Hungary. De Giusti is also the recipient of several awards: the 1991 Michigan Creative Artist Grant; 1996 Arts Achievement Award from Wayne State University; 2008 International Artist Award from Wayne County; and a Knighthood from the republic of Italy for achievements in the field of art.
Sergio de Giusti composed his Ed Fraga relief in 1983. Fraga frequently visited his home in the 1980s, where they would eat and drink, listen to Opera, and talk about art. As fellow Detroit artists, de Giusti and Fraga made an exchange of artworks: de Giusti created the relief in Fraga’s likeness and Fraga painted a wedding portrait of de Giusti and his wife Lori in 1987. Prior to becoming a part of Wayne State’s art collection, de Giusti’s relief resided in the home of Marilyn and Martin Fraga, Ed Fraga’s late parents, for years; Ed decided to gift the work to Wayne State in memory of his parents
. In this artwork, De Giusti utilizes the historically rich practice of relief sculpture to capture a contemporary subject. It appears to be a low relief, as Fraga slightly projects from the background surface; Fraga’s head projects outward the most, followed by his hands, while the middle portion of the body is the closest to the background surface. De Giusti employs naturalism to create a realistic rendering of Fraga, which is reminiscent of figurative reliefs from the Renaissance. Fraga clutches his wrist as he looks down in a contemplative state, which prompts the viewer to wonder what he might be thinking about or observing. To add, de Giusti emphasizes several different textures throughout the relief. He includes waves in Fraga’s hair and defines lines in his forehead to create the appearance of furrowed brows. De Giusti also places some mostly smooth boards on the background surface, what looks to be a tapestry with curves and folds right behind Fraga, and a tangled rope.The variety of textures emphasizes the movement that comes with relief sculpture; Fraga looks like he could emerge out of the sculpture, but he could also interact with the materials on the background surface.
Written by Angela Athnasios
Sources: Ed Fraga, "Artist Statement," sergiodegiusti.com, "Relief Sculpture: Definition,Types,History,Famous Reliefs," visual-arts-cork.com
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