Don Gummer is an American sculptor. His early work concentrated on table-top and wall-mounted
sculpture, but in the mid-1980s he shifted his interest to large free-standing works,
often in bronze. In the 1990s he added a variety of other materials, such as stainless steel,
aluminum and stained glass. His interest in large outdoor works also led him to an interest
in public art.
Style Critic Irving Sandler has noted that Gummer's
work is recognizably rooted in constructivism, but also writes that "in extending and deflecting
Constructivist art in a new direction, Gummer has rendered it peculiarly contemporary."
Sandler also writes that Gummer's works "give postmodern life to classic principles of abstract
composition." Early life and career
Gummer was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and grew up in Indiana. He studied at Ben Davis
High School, Indianapolis, and then at the Herron School of Art from 1964 to 1966. From
1966 to 1970, he studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts,
and then completed his studies at the Yale School of Art where he received his Bachelor
of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts, and studied with David von Schlegell.
Gummer's first solo show was in 1973. Since then, his works have been featured at two
dozen solo shows at museums and galleries around the East Coast and Midwest. His work
has also been exhibited in group shows. Gummer's commissioned works have included
Primary Compass, a site-specific outdoor permanent sculpture at the Butler Institute of American
Art, Youngstown, Ohio and a sculpture/fountain in Historic New Harmony, New Harmony, Indiana.
One stainless steel and stained glass sculpture, Southern Circle, standing 25 feet tall and
weighing approximately 20,000 pounds, was commissioned by the city of Indianapolis and
dedicated in October, 2004. "Primary Separation", a permanent installation at the Massachusetts
Museum of Contemporary Art, was completed in 2006.
Personal life Gummer is married to actress Meryl Streep.
Gummer and Streep are active philanthropists who donate to a range of arts organizations
and educational institutions, including Vassar College, Opus School in Harlem, and the Silver
Mountain Arts Foundation. They have four children: musician Henry Wolfe, model Louisa, and actresses
Mamie and Grace. Public collections
The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio;
Chase Manhattan Bank, New York; Chemical Bank, New York;
Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, Evansville, Indiana;
The Equitable, New York; Hiroshima Lying-in Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan;
International Creative Management, New York; House of Music - Kitakyushu International
Center, Kitakyushu, Japan; Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark;
McCrory Corporation, New York; Joseph E. Seagram Company, New York;
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Cyberintrastructure Building, Indiana University,
Bloomington, Indiana Open Eyes and The South Tower, Indiana University-Purdue
University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana References
Books Don Gummer; Peter Plagens; Evansville Museum
of Arts, History and Science; Butler Institute of American Art; Indiana State Museum. The
lyrical constructivist : Don Gummer sculpture ISBN 0-915829-70-3; ISBN 978-0-915829-70-5;
ISBN 978-0-915829-70-5 Douglas G Schultz; Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
Eight sculptors : an exhibition ISBN 0-914782-25-8; ISBN 978-0-914782-25-4
Joseph Thompson; Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Don Gummer : primary separation ISBN
0-9764276-2-1; ISBN 978-0-9764276-2-9 Article
Sandler, Irving. "Deconstructive Constructivist," Art in America, pp. 111–115.
External links Don Gummer's web site
Sandler, Irving. "Deconstructive constructivist: over more than 30 years, Don Gummer has moved
from architecturally influenced installations to intricate, large-scale sculptures that
give postmodern life to classic principles of abstract composition", Art in America.
A copy of the article, with citation, is available for reading at the artist's website.
Indianapolis' Newest Piece of Public Art, Herron School of Art eNews, Indiana University
Purdue University Indianapolis.