Beverly Pepper, 1922-2020
By Aliya Trovoada
Curvae in Curvae, 2013-2018, Cor-ten steel sculpture
Beverly Pepper was a sculptor born on 20th December, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York. She studied advertising and industrial design throughout her teenage years, gaining skills in various artistic mediums. Pepper primarily resided in Italy by the second half of her life (until her passing in 2020) where she became known for her monumental sculptures that blended artistry with the environment around it.
Pepper began her artistic career in painting, but she abandoned this by the 1960s when she found her true passion for sculpture. Her sculptures, such as Curvae in Curvae (2013-18), were enormous and often abstract, with a sense of movement all around. She could create a unique and individual style by juxtaposing industrial materials with organic shapes in an equally organic environment. The work looks like it is curling in and out of the Earth, extremely difficult for a sculptor to convey. This circular steel sculpture serves as a powerful statement in blurring the lines between art and nature, not imposing art on the environment but instead creating harmony between the two.
A fascinating part of Pepper’s art is her operation outside a single style, medium, or even artistic movement. She allowed herself to experiment with materials ranging from steel to marble, which all told their own individual stories. This creative freedom is one of the many reasons Pepper had such an impact on the art world, made more important by her status as an icon for female sculptors and women generally.
Pepper was a trailblazer for women in a male-dominated environment and she forged a path for many other female artists as a feminist herself. Since she worked with large-scale and physically demanding materials, she broke the stereotype of men as solely able to produce such art. Pepper learned how to weld at factories and is even attributed as the first artist to use Cor-ten Steel. With this determination and resilience, Pepper paved the way for generations of female artists, inspiring them to break barriers and truly pursue their aspirations.
Today, Pepper’s legacy is preserved by her works in galleries and public places worldwide. Her impact on the art world goes beyond her sculptures; it is also in her ability to push boundaries and leave an everlasting effect on contemporary art. Her works and legacy continue to inspire artists to think freely and create works fearlessly.
Bibliography
Cascone, Sarah. “At 96, the Sculptor Beverly Pepper Is Only Now Getting Credit for Using Cor-Ten Steel Way before Richard Serra.” Artnet News. Published February 25, 2019. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/beverly-pepper-marlborough-contemporary-1470469.
Tiberi, Barbara. “Gender Codes in Art and Industry: Beverly Pepper, an American in Postwar Italy.” In Female Cultural Production in Modern Italy: Literature, Art and Intellectual History, edited by Sharon Hecker and Catherine Ramsey-Portolano, 335–52. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14816-3_20.
Ricci, Benedetta. “Female Iconoclasts: Beverly Pepper.” Artland Magazine (blog). https://magazine.artland.com/female-iconoclasts-beverly-pepper/.
Burleigh, Nina. “Beverly Pepper’s Umbrian Influence.” The Wall Street Journal. Published October 3, 2013. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304213904579093491321183158.