Richard Erdman was born in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1952. He studied at the University of Vermont, where he received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in 2016. He works from studios in Williston, Vermont, and Carrara, Italy. 

 

Erdman grew up at the foothills of the oldest marble quarries in the U.S. in Dorset, Vermont. After graduating from college, he made a pilgrimage to the world’s finest source of marble: Carrara, Italy. There, he found, as he puts it, “worlds of possibility and wonder in the sublime beauty of ancient stone.” An early apprenticeship with master stone carvers in Carrara grew into a 40-year relationship with a small, family-run studio that continues to this day.

 

In 1983, Erdman was commissioned to contribute a landmark sculpture in travertine to the world-renownedDonald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens at PepsiCo. in Purchase, New York. Passage, carved from a single 450-ton block of stone, keeps company with works by 20th century masters includingAlexander Calder, Jean Debuffet, Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miró, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, and Claes Oldenburg.

 

Erdman’s marble and bronze sculptures are internationally celebrated for their provocative language of curves, contrast, and risk, their dialogue with timescales both geologic and human, and their gesture towards the transcendent power of natural phenomena. His family of original forms express a deep respect and understanding for his chosen medium, which he pushes to the technical limits. His work can be found in 140 museum, public, and private collections spanning six continents, and has been featured in 160 solo and group exhibitions worldwide. Notable collections include the Museum of Fine Art Boston, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Princeton University, The Rockefeller Collection, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Norton Museum of Art and the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens at PepsiCo.

 

Most recently, Erdman has collaborated with leading architectural firms including Richard Meier & Partners and Citterio-Viel on two public projects in Taiwan: Arete, his largest commissioned work since Passage, was unveiled in 2018 in Taipei; Seri Tai, a monumental sculpture in Carrara marble, will be installed in the fall of 2019.