The Vermont sculpture studio, known as the “Annex,” stands as a work of art in its own right. Conceived by Brian Mac of Birdseye, its form is shaped by two distinct influences: the sculptural language of Richard Erdman and the quiet agrarian rhythm of the surrounding horse farm. The building’s signature gesture—a cantilevered, corrugated Corten steel volume—pays homage to the humble stables, barns, and sheds that anchor the landscape.
Within the Annex’s light-filled office, the Vermont team tends to the business of the studio, guiding commissions, stewarding special projects, and maintaining the artist’s archive. In seamless collaboration with the Carrara, Italy studio, they connect this pastoral corner of New England to galleries in California, Boston, Palm Beach, Montreal, Austria, and Switzerland.
Here, in the cradle of the Green Mountains, a work begins in silence—an idea given tangible form in plaster, shaped and reshaped in the artist’s hands. From this intimate beginning, each piece journeys across the Atlantic, where it is carved from marble or cast in bronze, emerging as a lasting testament to the dialogue between place, process, and vision.
Staff
Abbey Meaker
Director
Bio
Abbey Meaker joined Richard Erdman Studios in 2007 and has since become a central force in directing the trajectory of Richard Erdman’s career, guiding creative strategy, cultivating client and gallery relationships, overseeing sales and commissions, and shaping the studio’s artistic vision. In 2024, she spearheaded the studio’s comprehensive rebrand, introducing a new website, a refined style of sculpture documentation, and a distinct voice—poetic yet precise—that defines its public presence. An artist, writer, and curator with extensive experience in the arts, she is also an accomplished publisher. She is the co-founder of Another Earth, a publishing imprint dedicated to amplifying distinctive artistic voices. Her photography has been exhibited internationally, and her critical writings—ranging from incisive essays to in-depth artist interviews—regularly appear in the Los Angeles–based arts and culture magazine AUTRE.
Valerie Russell
Assistant Director
Bio
Valerie Russell joined Richard Erdman Studios in 2019, where she plays a pivotal role in sustaining the studio’s operational excellence and supporting its artistic endeavors. She oversees finance, registrar responsibilities, office operations, and special projects with a discerning balance of precision and creativity. An artist, entrepreneur, and seasoned administrator, Russell brings over a decade of operations management experience, having founded and directed a boutique design firm and established Valerie Russell Bookkeeping, a virtual bookkeeping practice serving small businesses. Her rare fluency in both creative practice and business administration enables her to maintain the studio’s structural integrity while contributing to the realization of its artistic vision.