Both fine in craftsmanship and refreshing in imagery, the sculpture of Sidney Gordin is indicative of the vitality that is still a part of our contemporary expression, threatened as it is with fad and fashion. Frankly two-dimensional and without objective reference, the free­standing pieces successively remind one of the Dancers from Angkor Vat, of Scythian and Sarmartian animal forms, of heavy globs of algae floating in stag­nant pools, of ancient sailing vessels and of Balinese shadow puppets. Most exciting are the hammered and welded bronzes in which organic nodules of flattened metal grow out of one another, defying any conscious relation to space or gravity yet involving both. Adding to the visual impact is the mottled treatment of the bronze. The welded and hammered steel pieces, slightly larger and employing more sail-like forms are sometimes less organic although equal­ly provocative. Adding contrast, the rod sculptures of iron or steel relate more to similar contemporary expressions but have a refinement of their own. A final dimension is developed in the black and white gouache drawings which, in no way direct studies for the metal pieces, are, nevertheless, akin to the over-all imagery of the sculpture. Gordin’s work is decorative in the best sense of the word: formal and imaginative.

––Constance Perkins