Jedd Novatt (born 1958) is an American sculptor who creates dynamic, non-representational compositions of geometric forms. He is best known for his 'Chaos' series of works in either welded steel or bronze.

Life and work

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Novatt studied literature and sculpture at Sarah Lawrence College before moving to France to study sculpture at the Lacoste School of the Arts (now operated by Savannah College of Art & Design). Novatt lived and worked in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

until 2002, where he was recognized for his welded and painted steel sculptures and bold, black-and-white collages. He currently resides in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France and divides his time among studios in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, New York and the Basque region in Spain. Novatt’s first solo show was in 1993 at the

Tibor de Nagy Gallery The Tibor de Nagy Gallery is an art gallery located on Rivington Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. History Tibor de Nagy Gallery is among the earliest modern art galleries in New York City. The gallery was founded by ...

. Since then, his works have been exhibited extensively in galleries and museums in the United States and Europe. Novatt’s works are held in numerous public and private collections worldwide. Novatt's primary motif, “Chaos”, involves constructions of cube-like forms. Whether the works are created in steel or bronze, the configuration of elements "seems to teeter as if on the point of collapse.” One critic noted: “Novatt searches to capture an instant of equilibrium in unstable and fragile situations, similar to our existential condition, but also to the particular moment that we are living.” Novatt says: "The title Chaos represents an idea that encapsulates various aspects of the definition of the word chaos. Ironically, order is a large part of the idea; or rather the realisation that order might be random. I think about this word for different reasons, but in the end the title Chaos best describes a response to many things, and full of contradictions." In 2008, Novatt unveiled a series of monumental sculptures entitled ''Chaos Vascos''. The first in the series was part of a solo exhibition at La Piscine, Musée d'Art et d'Industrie de Roubaix in France where it remains on permanent exhibition at the museum's entrance. Chaos Vascos II was selected for the Beyond Limits 2008

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exhibition at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, England. 2009 saw the unveiling of ''Chaos Mundaka'', the third in Novatt's series of monumental works. Chaos Mundaka I, was exhibited at Alfa Arte in Spain before being permanently installed in front of the

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Uni ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, in October 2009. ''Chaos Mundaka II'', became part of

2009 edition of Beyond Limits at Chatsworth House. In 2011, an American benefactor donated ''Chaos Pamplona'' to the Town of Yountville located in Napa Valley, California. This monumental work was installed on July 11, 2011. The official dedication ceremony will take place at 10am on July 16, 2011 with both the benefactor and artist in attendance. In 2012, the city of

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, Spain installed ''Chaos Nervion'' by Jedd Novatt in the Campa de los Ingleses surrounded by the Guggenheim Museum, Raphael Moneo Library and the Cesar Pelli tower. The work was unveiled on July 27 with the Mayor of Bilbao

Iñaki Azkuna Iñaki Azkuna Urreta (14 February 1943 – 20 March 2014) was a Spanish politician of the Basque Nationalist Party. He was mayor of the city of Bilbao, Biscay in the Basque Country, from 1999 until his death. In 2012, Azkuna won the World Mayo ...

in attendance. In 2013, Novatt's monumental works ''Chaos SAS'' (pictured above) and ''Chaos Bizkaia'' were permanently installed in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

as part of the

Pérez Art Museum Miami The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)—officially known as the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County—is a contemporary art museum that relocated in 2013 to the Museum Park in Downtown Miami, Florida. Founded in 1984 as the Center for t ...

's collection. In April 2016, ''Chaos Meteoro'', an important monumental work, was unveil at Chatworth House in Derbyshire, United Kingdom. Starting in October 2021, the Pérez Art Museum Miami is holding a solo exhibition of Novatt's large-scale monotypes and small-scale sculptures, in addition to the two monumental works in the outdoor sculpture garden.

References

External links

La Piscine- RoubaixHamiltons GalleryHopkins Custot
* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E6D81E3AF933A05754C0A9669C8B63&scp=2&sq=jedd%20novatt&st=cse Variations on Welded Sculpture (New York Times)br>Jedd Novatt tra minimalismo e strutture primarie (Corriere della Sera)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novatt, Jedd Sarah Lawrence College alumni Living people 1958 births Artists from New York City Sculptors from New York (state)