Client: the Zucker Hillside hospital

Location: Glen Oaks, NY, United States

Completion date: 2015

Project Team

Artist

Robin Antar

Robin Antar

Other

Myles

2sculpt

Industry Resource

marble/MARBLE

company

Overview

the piece is carved out of turkish marble. the sculpture is 38″h X 26″w X 15″d

Goals

This sculpture was created as a tribute to my son David Antar, who passed away October 28, 2013. It was carved from a 1,500 pound block of Greek marble at the summer 2014 session of Marble/Marble-26. This in itself is strange, because my David passed away at the age of 26 as well.

The stone, which now weighs 1,000 pounds, also has purple veins running through it – also a strange thing, because when David was young and having a very hard time with life, his ‘secret code’ to me when he needed help was to whisper “purple!” That was also his favorite color when he was seven or eight years old. I had forgotten all of it when I purchased the stone – but it all came back to me as I worked through the carving. 

I carved a knot because David had a very hard life. The knot represents his pain; but the knot breaks open into a flame, which to me represents life – his soul rising to Heaven. This was an extremely hard thing for a mother to do. But for me, a sculptor, it was also a work of healing.

Process

I carved and designed this piece, it was installed by Harry Gordon