For over five decades, Ken Price (1935–2012) produced small-scale ceramic sculptures with brightly colored finishes that achieved a balance between form and surface. Then, in the last years of his life, he initiated a dramatic shift in scale and finish. Ken Price: The Large Sculptures unveils this final body of work in its entirety. With dimensions that echo those of the human body, these sculptures speak directly to the viewer’s corporeality. Cast in bronze composite and painted with color-shifting automotive paint, the large sculptures are in one sense the culmination of Price’s long career and in another the beginning of a new path cut tragically short. This large-format book includes a detailed essay by Alex Kitnick that situates these works in the history of modern sculpture. The plates section features multiple views of the works’ seemingly ever-shifting forms. Completing the book are numerous unpublished photographs of the fabrication process at Price’s studio.
Text by: Alex Kitnick