Studio in the park
Studio in the park: DRIFTWOOD MOBILES
Life in the Hudson: Ancient Aquatic
Driftwood’s strange and diverse natural shapes are weathered by time, tide, sun and current. The textures, colors and patinas vary greatly. From this wood Robert Greenberg creates kinetic mobile sculptures that become nature representing nature. The material that is used in these pieces has drifted from some part of the 315 miles of Hudson River that extends from its source in the Adirondacks down to New York Harbor and out to the Atlantic Ocean. Thousands of varieties of trees and plant life compose this timeless matter. The material for these sculptures was collected from the rocks banking Riverside Park between 95th and 125th Streets. Some pieces individually appear to have been sculpted by nature into bizarre, primitive-looking extinct creatures. Greenberg is inspired by the infinite whimsical combinations that can form sculptures, both abstract and representative. Floating is the most important aspect of the sculptures, representing drifting in water and then in the air, both of which he sees as natural theatrical events. Breezes will animate them and sunlight will cast deep motion-filled shadows like those they once possessed when they were live growth on the banks of the Hudson.
“Be sure to visit Robert Greenberg’s installation in the Rotunda arches of the 79th Street Boat Basin Cafe. The artist has assembled driftwood he found along the Hudson River into a series of mobiles that resemble the desiccated bones of ancient creatures. A monumental skeleton with tail flippers dangles from one archway, while assorted vertebrae float in another, casting creepy shadows. It’s a brilliant, evocative work, even more dramatic when illuminated at night”
