Alexander Liberman, Odyssey, 1973
Summary
Alexander Liberman, Odyssey, 1973
Painted steel, Collection Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, SUNY, Museum purchase with funds from the Friends of the Neuberger Museum of Art and the Roy R. and Marie S. Neuberger Foundation, EL 1975.02.01
Background
Odyssey is a striking fusion of strength and grace, where industrial steel beams and pipes are transformed through bold red color and dynamic form. The sculpture’s monumental scale commands attention, yet its fluid lines and angles suggest movement and journey, inviting viewers to explore it from every perspective.
Eric Liberman is best known for his influential career in publishing as an editorial and creative director at Condé Nast, but he has long maintained a parallel life as a multidisciplinary artist. His work spans sculpture, painting, photography, and design, reflecting a modernist approach that combines precision, innovation, and emotional resonance.
In Odyssey, Liberman draws on the raw, structural language of steel—a material associated with industry and permanence—but reinterprets it with vibrant color and rhythm. The piece evokes a voyage through form and space, echoing the artist’s belief in art’s power to transform everyday materials into poetic experience.