Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 June 2009 13:03 Written by Carol Connelly Monday, 01 June 2009 00:12

Purdue University North Central is home to hundreds of pieces of art created by noted 20th century artist, George Sugarman. In 2008, The George Sugarman Foundation made the generous contribution of the definitive collection.

The PNC collection includes sculpture, paintings, photos, books and a video of pieces of Sugarman's original art. All Sugarman exhibits are free and open to the public.

Two additional sculptures, a variety of framed paintings and a tribute wall are featured in the PNC Library Odyssey Gallery on the second floor of the LSF Building. The tribute wall includes 35 framed works, a montage of photographs depicting the artist and his biography.

The gallery is open Monday to Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Another sculpture, Two Blues and a Red, is on display on the first floor of Schwarz Hall, adjacent to the Chancellor's Office, Room 137.

This collection contains more than 50 years of Sugarman's work. “Purdue University North Central is indebted to the George Sugarman Foundation; to Sugarman's niece and foundation director Arden Sugarman; and to artist Peter Capurso, his long-time assistant, for the gift of this definitive collection,” said Judy Jacobi, PNC assistant vice chancellor of Marketing and Community Relations. “It resides at PNC for the educational benefit and enjoyment of all.”

Sugarman's works are among the collections in museums such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York City ; the Art Institute, Chicago and the Fogg Museum at Harvard University .

His work reflects an intense interest in colors. The sculptures embrace a “polychrome profusion” of shape and space as defined by color. The abstract yet organic forms that characterized his style with their eccentricity and expansiveness reflected what he called the “existential disorder of life.” In the midst of a surge of interest in the stark minimalism of sculptural work in the 1960s, Sugarman persisted in his complex, multi-colored geometric and biomorphic style.

To obtain further information about the Sugarman collection or to arrange a tour, contact Judy Jacobi, PNC assistant vice chancellor of Marketing and Community Relations, at 219-785-5200 ext. 5593. Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Jacobi.