Greatness in the Commonplace: The Art of Boris Gilbertson

Boris Gilbertson is known primarily as a sculptor, and his commissioned works in stone and metal, though largely in private collections, can also be seen in the public buildings and outdoor settings in the East and Midwest for which they were undertaken. Widely collected too, however, are the artist's Sumi brush drawings, generously illustrated in these pages. Having studied classic Chinese writing in Chicago, Gilbertson remained a student of Chinese thought: it was apparent in all of his work. In the artist's words, 'I like to keep fairly close to the earth in the sense that the Chinese do.' In his work, the goal was to find something great in the commonplace. Gilbertson was born in Evanston, Illinois, and lived much of his adult life there; he also spent several years in Cornucopia, Wisconsin. He moved in 1960 to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and there lived and worked for the last twenty-two years of his life.