Inheritance of the figure: Manuel Neri and Ruby Neri across generations | amNewYork

"Manuel Neri occupies a singular position within the landscape of postwar American art. While abstraction surged through the 1950s with ferocious momentum, he insisted—almost stubbornly—on the human figure. Born in California to Mexican immigrant parents, Neri forged a sculptural language that fused classical figuration with the raw physicality of gesture."

"Plaster, bronze, and marble became arenas of excavation. Surfaces were scraped, repainted, gouged, and revised again until the body itself seemed to breathe with the evidence of its making. Each figure carries the unmistakable trace of the artist's hand, reminding viewers that sculpture, at its most vital, is an act of persistence."

"As a founding member of the Six Gallery cooperative, he helped organize the legendary 1955 reading where Allen Ginsberg first performed Howl, a moment that crystallized the restless spirit of the Beat generation. Within that Bay Area crucible of poets, painters, and iconoclasts, Neri developed a fiercely independent voice."

Manuel Neri established a distinctive sculptural practice centered on the human figure during the postwar period when abstraction dominated American art. Born to Mexican immigrant parents in California, he developed a unique language combining classical figuration with gestural physicality, using plaster, bronze, and marble as materials for excavation and revision. As a founding member of the Six Gallery cooperative, Neri participated in the 1955 reading where Allen Ginsberg premiered Howl, positioning himself within the Bay Area's Beat generation cultural environment. Despite studying under Richard Diebenkorn and Elmer Bischoff, his figurative commitment distinguished him from prevailing abstract trends. His daughter Ruby Neri now curates an exhibition spanning his work from the late 1950s through 1980s across two galleries, creating a dialogue between father and daughter that examines artistic lineage and how creative vision transmits through generations.

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