"Comet" by Max DeMoss, is a one-of-a-kind sculpture of bronze and silver on pink granite. It stands 12' high x 30" wide, and is located in the garden-patio area behind the
Gary Harrington worked with Greg Hawthorne, Max DeMoss and the city of Pleasanton to create an innovative payment plan. This comes to Pleasanton as a lease-purchase agreement between the artist and the city of Pleasanton, and guaranteed by the Harrington Art Partnership.
This means Nancy and Gary are looking for partners to share in the total cost -$25,203.75 - now through February 2015.
Leadership Pleasanton Class of 2012 donated $3,500 to fund the first year’s purchase agreement payment, plus. Their name, "Leadership Class of 2012" will be the first on the bronze plate when it is installed.
On the first anniversary in 2013 another $3,000 will be paid. On the second anniversary in 2014, $6,000 will be paid with the final payment due in February 2015 of $11,500 + Tax.
The Harringtons found this piece in the Hawthorne Gallery in Big Sur. The original name of this sculpture was "Platter 173".
The Harringtons felt it looked like a comet and with the artist's permission, named it "Comet".
Sculptor Max DeMoss plays with the mysteries in the ancient art of bronze casting in the creation of this unique platter.
"The mass entertainment of the Renaissance was painting when art audiences were captured by the artist's use of line," says DeMoss.
"In my work I introduce the line to reflect the process of creation, and to add thoughtfulness and depth to each piece."
His platters have a serene feeling. His use of fragmentation of the pieces, in both bronze and inlaid silver, create a line which the viewer's eye follows.
De Moss uses the centuries-old method of "lost wax" casting. His work comes alive specifically because each piece is broken open letting in light and space, subtly informing the observer of its origins. The sculpture fragmentation implies motion suggesting the transition from the artist's imagination to reality-- and has the effect of expanding the figure's presence as if tugging on the space around it. In these ways the feeling of aliveness in DeMoss' work is genuinely unmatched.
Max DeMoss works daily in his own foundry where he lives near Hemet, California.
All donations are accepted: Partner class (P), $499 or less; Special Partner (SP), $500 or greater, or a Very Important Partner (VIP), $3,500 or greater. Make check to City of Pleasanton, Another H.A.P.P.Y. and mail to: City of Pleasanton, Attn. Susan Andrade-Wax, P.O. Box 520, Pleasanton, CA 94566. If interested in partnering in future public art, contact Gary or Nancy at 925-846-9757.
