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 “The ultimate meaning in a sequence of Paley drawings—from conceptual sketches, through design development, to final rendering—is to be found in its outcome: a work in metal, wrought with consummate skill.” -Mildred F. Schmertz, contributing editor for Architecture

In 1972, Albert Paley (b. 1944), one of the leading goldsmiths of the studio art movement in America, was invited by the Smithsonian Institution to submit a design for a new gate at their Renwick Gallery of American crafts and decorative arts. Paley, submitting his first design for any major competition and proposing the largest piece of ironwork he had ever constructed, won the commission. The Portal Gates remain among the most popular works at the Renwick and mark the dramatic beginning of Paley’s career as a celebrated monumental metal sculptor.

Throughout his career, as Paley’s work transitioned from jewelry-making to furniture making and finally architectural sculpture and metalwork, his design processes also evolved, shifting from simple pencil sketches to formal computerized blueprints and scale maquettes. Paley notes: “Drawing was originally simply a way to realize form; now it is more and more a thought process that aids me in developing form.”

Sketches to Steel: The Design Process of Sculptor Albert Paley explores the evolution of the artist’s titanic metal sculptures by focusing on his design, fabrication, and installation processes. The exhibition features approximately 85 preliminary drawings, studies, and sculptural maquettes (scale models) selected from Paley’s own archives in Rochester, New York. Visitors to Sketches to Steel will access the monumental vision behind dozens of his site-specific sculptures that grace public and private spaces across the country.

Paley’s artwork is also included in more than 30 major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the British Museum in London. Additionally, Paley holds an endowed chair at Rochester Institute of Technology, home to The Sentinel, a 110-ton, 70-foot-high, weathering steel/stainless steel/bronze Paley installation that is the largest sculpture on any campus in the United States.