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Benedict Tatti, “Abstract Design,” circa 1950s, pine and paint, 9½ by 7¾ by 4½ inches.

MUST RUN 3-16

‘BENEDICT TATTI: SCULPTOR’ AT JAMES GRAHAM & SONS w/1 cut

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NEW YORK CITY — An exhibition of sculptures by Benedict Tatti opens at James Graham & Sons March 17 and is on view through April 28. A full color catalog for this show is available with images of 27 works and an essay by Cynthia Nadelman.

Tatti was initially influenced by the primacy of direct carving, often taking advantage of available materials, he seemed to live by a latter-day version of Michelangelo’s dictum — that the work was already there in the material, simply needing to be liberated.

Direct carving of wood and stone was the focus of his work in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s Tatti started to focus more on assemblages of found objects he collected while walking in the city. He adopted the concept that influenced his direct carvings to the use of found and assembled materials.

Tatti was born in New York in 1917. He began studying art in high school while also taking sculpture classes at the Nicholas Roerich Museum and at the Leonardo da Vinci School of Art. From 1939 to 1942 Tatti studied full time at the Art Students League under Ossip Zadkine and William Zorach.

After the war Tatti attended Hans Hofmann’s classes in New York. In regular critiques of Tatti’s sculpture, Hofmann often found aspects of the work that he admired. Tatti was self-taught in art history, visiting museums, and even the Central Park Zoo, to develop historical background and subject matter for his work.

Tatti’s sculptures won numerous awards during his lifetime, including first price for sculpture in the National Soldier Art Competition and first prize at Brooklyn Museum’s 28th Annual in 1944. He also exhibited his work at various venues, including the Weyhe and ACA Galleries, Metropolitan Museum of Art “Artists for Victory” in 1942, National Gallery of Art, Art Institute of Chicago and Brooklyn Museum.

His works are in numerous public collections, including Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.; Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C.; Art Students League, New York; and Maine’s Monhegan Museum.

James Graham & Sons is at 1014 Madison Avenue at 78th Street. For information, www.jamesgrahamandsons.com or 212-535-5767.