| Richard Erdman | |
| Birth Name: | Richard Stewart Erdman |
| Birth Date: | 20 May 1952 |
| Birth Place: | Princeton, New Jersey, United States |
| Nationality: | American |
| Known For: | sculpture, painting |
| Movement: | Abstract Bronze and Marble Sculpture, Modernism |
| Patrons: | Donald M. Kendall |
| Spouse: | Madeleine Dammers Austin |
Richard Erdman (born May 20, 1952) is an American artist living and working in Williston, Vermont, and Carrara, Italy. Primarily working in marble and bronze abstract sculpture, Erdman's prolific body of work ranges from intimately sized maquettes to the largest sculpture ever carved from a single block of travertine (Passage, in the collection of the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens).[1] His works belong to collections in 52 countries across 6 continents, including the United Nations, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Princeton University, the Rockefeller Collection, and many others. Erdman specializes in collaborating with esteemed architectural firms for custom commissions, and has partnered with Antonio Citterio, Richard Meier & Partners, Enzo Enea, and Whipple Russell, among others.
Erdman's family moved to Dorset, Vermont, when he was a child, where he grew up at the foothills of the oldest marble quarries in the U.S. These early experiences with stone and nature greatly influenced his life and work. In his youth, Erdman was a two-time NCAA All-American skier at the University of Vermont. Erdman is the grandson of Charles R. Erdman Jr., former mayor of Princeton.
Richard Erdman has travelled to the marble quarries of Carrara, Italy, since 1975. His sculpture is frequently made from the region's white and grey marbles, which have been used since the time of Ancient Rome as the source material for a long lineage of artists, including Michelangelo. His sculptures merge the ancient tradition of marble stone-carving with contemporary modernist sculpture, and have been shown in more than 160 solo and group exhibitions throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He has executed over 120 commissioned works for museums, public, and corporate collections. His work is held in collections in 52 countries worldwide.
In 1985 PepsiCo commissioned Erdman to create the monumental sculpture Passage, which stands like a sentinel at the entrance to the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens at PepsiCo. Carved from a massive 450 ton block of travertine, the 25-by-16 foot Passage is the largest sculpture in the world carved from a single block of travertine. More recently, in 2017, Richard Erdman completed the monumental Bardiglio marble sculpture Arete, for Richard Meier & Partners' Timeless 55 Tower located in Taipei, Taiwan. Arete stands nearly 12 feet high.