Article

David Rabinowitch

Published Online March 4, 2008

Last Edited December 16, 2013

David Rabinowitch, sculptor (b at Toronto 6 Mar 1943). Like his twin brother Royden RABINOWITCH, he first came to national attention as a member of the artistic community in London, Ontario, around Greg CURNOE, celebrated in the National Gallery of Canada's exhibition, The Heart of London (1968).

Rabinowitch, David

David Rabinowitch, sculptor (b at Toronto 6 Mar 1943). Like his twin brother Royden RABINOWITCH, he first came to national attention as a member of the artistic community in London, Ontario, around Greg CURNOE, celebrated in the National Gallery of Canada's exhibition, The Heart of London (1968). He has since produced one of the most challenging bodies of work in recent contemporary SCULPTURE. He shares minimalism's interest in exploring the demands made by sculpture within the space and time of its interaction with the viewer. His "Romanesque" sculptures, constructions of flat steel masses whose horizontal extension is counterpointed by vertical holes bored through each mass, present themselves as fields of perception in which the appearance of the sculpture depends on the position of the perceiver. A series of independent appearances follow one another as the viewer moves around the sculpture. It is as if the world dissolves into an irreconcilable, if related, succession of unique appearances. The possibility of unity is known because all the material facts of the sculpture are always present, but it is a product of intellect or desire, not of experience.

Rabinowitch moved to New York in 1972 and has taught at Yale University (1974-75) and at Düsseldorf (1984). He has accumulated a significant exhibition history, especially in Europe.