Arthur Carter: Studies for Construction

Arthur Carter’s metal sculpture is a form of drawing in space, and so it is not surprising that analytical, exploratory drawing is the foundation of his practice as an artist. Arthur Carter: Studies for Construction reproduces more than 200 of his drawings, which reveal the attention to interval and rhythm of the trained classical musician that he is. Carter, who has spent much of his life in the upper reaches of finance and journalism, is an artist whose sense of reality is deeply grounded in the lyrical abstractions of geometry: “Only squares and circles, lines and ellipses,” he says, “can elegantly explain and simplify the complex meaning of life.” Art historian and journalist Charles A. Riley offers a compelling portrait of Carter’s mind and hand at work.