October 2020

Fabricating the Sculpture of a Treasured Aspen Artist

For the past decade, I have been the sole fabricator of the Herbert Bayer estate sculptures. Bayer was a Bauhaus master, whose vision transformed Aspen into a cultural hub and whose legacy lives on in Aspen through his designs for The Aspen Institute where his sculpture can be seen around the campus.

Following his father’s death in 1985, Herbert’s son, Jonathan Bayer found an extensive collection of miniature handmade models. The models, were mostly under 12” tall and were constructed primarily in wood and in cardboard and carefully colored in Tempura paint. Several of these maquettes were shown in the Aspen Institute Paepcke Gallery in 2016, along with three, posthumously realized sculptures that I fabricated from the model collection.

It was in 2006 that Jonathan Bayer along with Hugo Anderson contacted The Peyton Wright Gallery in Santa Fe, NM to discuss bringing this model collection into the scale Herbert had envisioned. At the time, my studio was fabricating many custom architectural metal pieces and furniture for the recently constructed home of Peyton Wright’s owner, John Schaefer. We were also building museum stands, pedestals and similar things for the gallery. The four of us, in a meeting in John’s art-filled office came up with a plan where I would take the Bayer models, determine the mathematical formulas that formed the basis of their design and begin the process of making larger versions.

My intention has always been to remain as true to Bayer’s original vision as possible. I discovered that Bayer’s work is very mathematical with very little left open to interpretation, which made my desire to stay true to his vision quite manageable. Additionally, Bayer had many drawings showing these models in monumental size in real and imagined locations across the country, which was also helpful in understanding his perspective. The resulting works that I created have been placed in private collections and corporate locations throughout the country, including two monumental works recently installed across from The Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN.

The work of bringing Bayer’s models to the public continues in my new location in Basalt, where I am working on midsize versions that may one day be realized on a monumental scale. I am also working on my own painting and sculpture and would enjoy fabricating for other valley artists. My studio is open to visitors by appointment.

Lex Lucius Design
1712 Willits Lane
Building 5A
Basalt, CO 81621
[email protected]
www.lexlucius.com
505-603-7161