Chryssa
American, born Greece, 1933 - 2013Atelier Mourlot
American, New YorkDrawing for a Sculpture, n.d.
Not on view
Lithograph on paper
Dimensions30 1/16 × 19 15/16 in. (76.4 × 50.6 cm)
Museum purchase, 1968.7
Born and educated in Athens, Greece, Vardea Chryssa, known professionally as Chryssa, became a U.S. citizen and earned a reputation for her sculptured assemblages utilizing light from neon, and from Plexiglas combined with mixed media pieces. Chryssa's sculptures, with their precision and definite form, were a reaction to the prevalent Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s with its emphasis purely upon the artist's intent. In her work, the focus is on materials and the way they are shaped for specific use by craftsmen.
In 1955, Chryssa settled in New York City and became the first artist to incorporate neon light tubing and commercial signs into sculpture. In fact, she was so taken with the lights of Times Square that she tried to get a job as a sign maker, but was prevented by labor union rules. However, one of the members gave her sign-making lessons in his shop. She first made Pop images such as depictions of automobile tires and cigarettes. In her sculptures, she utilized letters of the alphabet, ideas that predated similar images by Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol.
