
George Rickey
Space Churn with Squares, 1969
Price upon request



Artwork Details
Staempfli Gallery, New York
Private Collection, New York, 1971
Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York
Private Collection, New Jersey

George Rickey's Space Churn with Squares (1969) is a quintessential example of the kinetic sculpture for which the artist earned international recognition. Developed during one of the most productive decades of his career, the work belongs to a sustained body of geometric, motion-driven constructions that established Rickey as a leading figure in kinetic art. His pieces are governed by wind and gravity rather than mechanical force—a philosophy fully expressed here.
The sculpture presents a diamond-oriented outer frame of polished stainless steel enclosing nested geometric elements—smaller squares suspended on carefully balanced axes within the larger form. Measuring 35½ × 20 × 13 inches, the piece represents an accessible scale for Rickey's oeuvre, well-suited to both private and institutional settings. The highly reflective surface shifts with changing light, while the suspended interior squares rotate slowly in response to the slightest air movement, continuously reconfiguring the composition.

“It is not by imitating its appearances that kinetic art draws on 'nature', but rather by identifying its laws, recognizing analogies and adapting them to the comprehensive repertoire of motion and space.”— George Rickey
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