Sculpture

Richard Erdman’s sculpture engages marble and bronze as charged, living materials. Working through abstraction, his practice is grounded in sustained physical dialogue with material—where form emerges through the hand,  subtraction, and conceptual rigor. As Erdman explains, “I am not content to look at marble from the outside only. I believe my work pervades and embodies the human spirit.”

About

Richard Erdman’s work has been exhibited internationally and is held in public and private collections in 50 countries. Across commissions and independent projects, his practice engages form, material weight, and the conditions under which abstract work can remain physically and conceptually grounded.

Studios

Richard Erdman maintains studios in the United States and Italy, working directly with marble and bronze across multiple sites — studios in Vermont, where he makes models out of wire, screen, and plaster, and in Carrara and Pietrsanta, where vast quarries of white marble mimic snow lined mountain ranges.

A History of Marble

Marble has occupied a central role in the history of sculpture for over two millennia, shaped by its durability, luminosity, and capacity for fine detail. From classical antiquity through the Renaissance and into modernism, marble has been associated with idealized form, permanence, and technical mastery. Yet its use has continually evolved in response to changing cultural and conceptual frameworks.