George Rickey - Definition and Overview

George Rickey (1907–July 17, 2002) was an American kinetic sculptor.

Rickey was born in South Bend, Indiana in 1907. He studied art at the New York University Institute of Fine Arts and later at the Chicago Institute of Design, funded by the G.I. bill. Inspired by the mobiles of Alexander Calder, he began creating kinetic sculpture in the 1950s.

Rickey was able to design sculptures whose metal parts moved in response to the slightest air currents. These parts were often very large, sometimes weighing hundreds of pounds.

In works such as Two Open Triangles, Gyratory II Rickey's two wind driven elements [geared down so that in high winds the piece does not need to be renamed The Sabre Dance of Death] provide an endless series of combined, almost dance like, shapes and movements.

He died in his home in Saint Paul, Minnesota on July 17, 2002.

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