Chance Meeting
Artist
George Segal
(American, 1924 - 2000)
Date1989
MediumPlaster, aluminum, and galvanized steel
DimensionsOverall: 55 × 41 × 123 inches (139.7 × 104.14 × 312.42 cm)
Credit LineGift of Carroll Janis and Donna Seldin Janis in honor of the 75th Anniversary of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Object number2008.59.A-G
On View
On viewGallery Location
- L3
Collections
DescriptionThis sculpture is composed of three, life-size figural forms of one man and two women. They are dressed in coats and stand at a One Way street sign.Exhibition HistoryGeorge Segal, Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, 1991, no. 1.
George Segal: Wall Works, Hiroshima Museum of Art, Hiroshima, Japan, April 21-June 3, 2001, Marugame-Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art, Kagawa, Japan, June 14-July 22, 2001, Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, Japan, August 2-September 2, 2001, Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan, September 13-October 21, 2001, Akita Senshu Museum of Art, Japan, November 1-December 14, 2001, Utsunomiya Museum of Art, Japan, March 16-May 6, 2002, The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, July 1-September 15, 2002, Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick, NJ, November 17, 2002-March 24, 2003, unnumbered.
George Segal: Wall Works, Hiroshima Museum of Art, Hiroshima, Japan, April 21-June 3, 2001, Marugame-Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art, Kagawa, Japan, June 14-July 22, 2001, Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, Japan, August 2-September 2, 2001, Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan, September 13-October 21, 2001, Akita Senshu Museum of Art, Japan, November 1-December 14, 2001, Utsunomiya Museum of Art, Japan, March 16-May 6, 2002, The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, July 1-September 15, 2002, Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick, NJ, November 17, 2002-March 24, 2003, unnumbered.
Chance Meeting represents one of George Segal’s favorite motifs: people on city streets. A one way street sign identifies an urban environment, while three figures face each other in close proximity. This pose, along with the title, implies that they are friends or acquaintances who have unexpectedly met on the street. Segal often used family and friends as models. In Chance Meeting, the woman wearing high heels is the artist’s daughter, Rena Segal. This plaster sculpture contains details captured by the casting process, including folds in the clothing and even top-stitching on seams.
The
George and Helen Segal Foundation, North Brunswick Township, NJ;
Carroll and Donna Janis, New York, by 2008;
Their gift to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2008.
Carroll and Donna Janis, New York, by 2008;
Their gift to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2008.
Copyright© The George and Helen Segal Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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