GARY PASSANISE

(American, born 1951)

Wisdom of the Limb, 1995
Cast bronze
16 x 13 feet
Gift of the artist

Echoing the theme of time and its cycles, Wisdom of the Limb is formed of eight arcs, each about five feet long, cast from fallen curved branches found in Laumeier’s Nature Trail. Originally commissioned for an exhibition in 1995, St. Louis-based artist Passanise joined bronze castings of the tree limbs, into a ring 13 feet high, each section intended to reproduce textural details of bark and the surface damage of insect invasion. Both concept and title developed out of Passanise’s conversation with an engineer who told of the “intelligence of trees” in growing within the limits of their capacity and to communicate with each other.

Passanise’s work addresses a multiplicity of ideas, for example its massive circular form, mimics a tree’s concentric rings and the underlying patterns that record the growth of the tree, weather and its age. Within the context of Laumeier, the sculpture is also a meditation on the environment, fragile ecosystems and global climate changes, as the enduring bronze branches freezes in time significant cycles of nature.

Sculpture Interaction Guideline: Look, But Do Not Touch

Artist Biography

Gary Passanise first received his B.F.A. in painting and drawing at Webster University in 1977 and then studied at Southern Illinois University where he received his M.F.A. in painting and drawing in 1980. His work has been exhibited in numerous galleries across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Solo and group exhibitions include: Brooklyn Expo, New York; Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis; Arcade Contemporary Art Projects, St. Louis; Schema Projects, New York; Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis; University of North Texas Gallery, Denton; Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO; Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City; Stern Studio, Vienna; Edwardsville Art Center, IL; Central Academy of Contemporary Art, Beijing; Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and William Shearburn Gallery, Santa Fe among many others. His awards include National Endowment for the Arts-Mid America Arts Alliance; Pollack Krasner Foundation; Creative Artist Project, Missouri Arts Council; Ford Foundation Award for Painting and Sverdrup Travel Scholar. Passanise lives and works in St. Louis.