ERNEST TROVA

(AMERICAN, 1927-2009)

Falling Man, 1969
bronze with black nickel patina
Laumeier Sculpture Park Collection, gift of the artist

Ernest Trova's gift of forty works to St. Louis County helped bring Laumeier Sculpture Park to life in 1976. With many of these works displayed throughout the park and region, this St. Louis native's legacy continues to remain alive at Laumeier and in the arts community. Other examples of Trova's geometric, abstract and figurative work can be seen throughout the Park.

Falling Man, one of the artist's iconic images, is armless, pot-bellied and faceless. Bound by human limitations, Falling Man perseveres, demonstrating mankind's struggle to survive in an imperfect and harsh world. As a recurring figurative motif in his work, Trova's Falling Man has taken many forms, including this deconstructed or dissected version that demonstrates his curiosity and pursuit in the analysis of one singular form.

Sculpture Interaction Guideline: Look, But Do Not Touch

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Ernest Tino Trova was born in St. Louis in 1927. Best known for his signature series, Falling Man, he considered his entire output a single "work in progress.” Trova continued his ad hoc art education, seeking out painter Willem de Kooning and poet Ezra Pound, whose dual influences heavily impacted the young artist’s developing practice and philosophy. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, he was among the most widely acknowledged sculptors working in the United States, resulting in invitations to exhibit in three Whitney Annuals, three Venice Biennales and Documenta 4 (1968) in Kassel, Germany. Trova's work has been exhibited in dozens of major museums including the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Trova was represented by Pace Gallery, New York, from 1963 to 1985, which held his first solo exhibition in April 1963.

Visit etrova.org for more information.