8/10/2018 Nyack People & Places: Eric David Laxman, Sculptor • Nyack News and Views

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by by Mike HaysMike Hays August 9, 2018August 9, 2018

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Nyack People & Places: Eric DavidNyack People & Places: Eric DavidLaxman, SculptorLaxman, Sculptor

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8/10/2018 Nyack People & Places: Eric David Laxman, Sculptor • Nyack News and Views

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Sparks fly in Eric David Laxman’s studio on MountainviewAvenue. Sanding is one of the final stages in the creation ofa large curvilinear metal sculpture he has been laboring overfor months. The journey of creating a single sculpture is notunlike his personal journey in learning to survive as anartist. “Creating a life from one’s own art is challenging,”said the Upper Nyack resident. Laxman inhabits a uniqueniche: creating one-of-a-kind functional metalworkcomplements his work as a sculptor.

Laxman as a young artist: From buildingblocks to stone carving

Laxman was always interested in creating and working withhis hands. As a child, he arranged blocks and drew. Halloween was a favorite holiday. One year, when he and afriend dressed as the Lone Ranger and Tonto, he made apapier-mâché horse. He took sculpture classes at RoCA,where three of his sculptures are now on display. A class inclay sculpture with Judith Slane was a personal turningpoint when he began to dream of becoming an artist.

Laxman credits his science training as a pre-med student atTufts with giving him a grounding in problem-solving thatbecame useful later as an artist. Organic chemistry was hisfavorite science class because of its three-dimensionalmolecular forms. Although he majored in chemistry, art wasnever far away. A class in stone carving led him in a newdirection, and to full-time enrollment at the School of theMuseum of Fine Arts in Boston. Almost as a sidelight, helearned welding and metal work at SMFA, all in order to

8/10/2018 Nyack People & Places: Eric David Laxman, Sculptor • Nyack News and Views

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Laxman in his studio

build bases for his stone carvings. Trips to Vermont quarries,with their stone bridges, added a new dimension to hisunderstanding of his materials. Laxman was almostconvinced to continue his studio work there.

Carving out a life in Nyack

Laxman’s decision to return to Rockland County was animportant turning point in his career. He had early successin selling sculptures at the Fine Art Gallery in Piermont, butsoon after he found out what most artists eventually learn:selling work is infrequent. With his pre-med background inhand, he started teaching MCAT (a required test for thosewho want to go to medical school) preparation courses forKaplan online school. While he was successful at teaching,art was his passion.

In 1996, Laxman attended the International ContemporaryFurniture Fair at the Javits Center in New York City. It wasa revelation for several reasons. He attended the ICFF withhis future wife Marta Siberio, and discovered the world ofhigh-end functional art. Soon he had a booth at the Fair andwas finding customers for custom metal railings, wallsconces, benches, tables, and signs like those that greetcustomers at the Nyack YMCA, Maria Luisa Boutique, orDVine in Sparkill. Word of mouth increased his customerbase and, along with commissioned sculptures, he was ableto build a life for himself as an artist. Laxman finds thatcreating functional art complements his sculptures. The

8/10/2018 Nyack People & Places: Eric David Laxman, Sculptor • Nyack News and Views

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One section of Laxman’s studio

problem-solving process from idea to finished product issimilar.

Laxman is active in the local arts community. Recently hecurated the outdoor sculpture garden at the Edward HopperHouse Museum and Study Center, along with designing andcreating metal logo frames and railings.

Laxman’s Mountainview Studio

The

studio is a distinctive site on the curving Old MountainRoad. The property was once owned by the Garrabrandtfamily, after which the nearby hill rising above UpperNyack is named. For a period, Laxman had a large studio inthe Garner Arts Center. Hurricane Irene put an end to thatwhen the old mill was flooded in 2011. Since then, Laxmanhas enjoyed the short commute to his old studio that can beclearly identified by found-metal objects, stone work, andsculptures arranged on and around the wood frame building.

With the physique of a blacksmith, Laxman is able to movestone and large metal sculptures with ease. With one stronghand, he displays a large metal medallion for acommemorative bench; with the other, he points to a largecurvilinear bronze sculpture-in-process perched precariouslyon a large table. The studio is part art gallery and partworking studio; found metal art is intermingled withLaxman’s own art.

Laxman’s sculptures

Laxman’s finished works look as if they have just emergedspontaneously from stone or metal. His metal sculptures

8/10/2018 Nyack People & Places: Eric David Laxman, Sculptor • Nyack News and Views

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Rugged Heart, permanent collection ToCA

have a lightness despite their final weight with curvilinearabstract forms that suggest flames or waves. Despite theirapparent spontaneity, the process from idea to final form islaborious. Many artists create a maquette (a small model)that is turned over to a fabricator to create the final piece.Laxman views the process differently. He starts with amodel, usually in cardboard, that is translated into carefullymeasured forms for cutting into final shapes, which thenneed to be welded together and sanded into a finished,polished piece. Many complex problems need to be solvedalong the way. To Laxman, the process is a revelation andcritical to the final artistic expression. Laxman is never sureexactly what the final piece will look like until gets there.

Selected Laxman Sculptures

In Serpiente Grande, commissioned for a home inMadison, Ct, Laxman created a piece that combines hislove of stone and metal into an environmentalstatement. He uses naturally occurring stone as a basefor a striking curvilinear highly polished metal form.Patience: Lady Bridgeport, a commission for an artdeco lobby in Bridgeport, led Laxman in a newdirection. The figure is life size. In this case, he startedwith a metal form and shaped the finished work aroundit. The internal form is still in his studio.Spirit Rising, located in Rockland CommunityCollege’s 9-11 Memorial Garden, combines salvagedsteel I-Beams from the World Trade Center with stoneelements.

Laxman’s sculptures have appeared in a wide variety of

8/10/2018 Nyack People & Places: Eric David Laxman, Sculptor • Nyack News and Views

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locations, including on Netflix’s Orange is the NewBlack and Ashford and Simpson’s midtown restaurant andlounge, Sugar Bar. But it’s the solidity of Laxman’s outdoorsculptures that will be remembered for generationsthroughout Nyack, Rockland County, and the Northeast.

See also: Local Arts Index: Eric David Laxman, 6/15/2013

Michael Hays is a 30-year resident of the Nyacks. He grewup the son of a professor and nurse in Champaign, Illinois.He has recently retired from a long career in educationalpublishing with Prentice-Hall and McGraw-Hill. He is anavid cyclist, amateur historian and photographer, gardener,and dog walker. He has enjoyed more years than he cares tocount with his beautiful companion, Bernie Richey. You canfollow him on Instagram as UpperNyackMike.

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Edward Hopper House Eric David Laxman

garner arts center Maria Luisa Boutique

Nyack artist RoCA Rockland YMCA sculpture

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8/10/2018 Nyack People & Places: Eric David Laxman, Sculptor • Nyack News and Views

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