Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years.

Nippy Bird

More Works By Sorel Etrog Bronze 1965
22 × 29 × 30 in 55.88 × 73.66 × 76.2 cm
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About Nippy Bird

Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. A gifted poet, filmmaker, painter and sculptor, in the 1960’s Etrog had just begun working in Toronto in a spacious studio in the Tip Top building overlooking Lake Ontario. Etrog had recently viewed ancient Etruscan art in Florence, Italy and was taken by its mysterious and sensual form. During this time, his bronze sculptures often inspired by natural form favoured a motif of two elements connected by a loop–’links.’ Cast in bronze, Nippy Bird is one of the intriguing table top pieces created during what is known as Etrog’s ‘Links’ period. This is edition 4/7.

“I saw in [the link] a strong device for connecting and creating tension, mirroring the tension in our very existence with and within the outside world.” Sorel Etrog

“He (Etrog) was a revelation. He was an awakening for the entire city of Toronto. I was greatly impressed with him. There is a talent that must be seen”.
Walter Moos, Gallery Moos

Etrog’s imagery “conjures a vision of the artist’s continuing preoccupation with existentialist metaphors of birth/death, joy/sorrow, and muteness.”
Dr. Robert Belton, Art Historian

Sorel Etrog was born in 1933 in Laşi, Romania and managed to survive the Second World War, Etrog immigrated along with his family to Israel in 1950. In Israel, he studied drawing, painting, sculpture, graphic design, and theater set design at the Tel Aviv Art Institute. After several successful exhibitions and accolades, Etrog moved to Toronto in 1963 and opened a studio. In 1968 he became a household name when he designed the bronze statuette presented to winners at the Canadian Film Awards. Originally called the Etrog, it was re-named the Genie in 1980. Etrog passed away at the age of 80 in 2014. He was a Member of the Order of Canada and a Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France. His work is included in museum collections around the world including the Tate Museum in London, England, The Guggenheim, NYC and the National Gallery of Canada
Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 2 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 3 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 4 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 5 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 6 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 7 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 8 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 9 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 10 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 11 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 12 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 13 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 14 Celebrated as an iconic contemporary artist, Sorel Etrog’s career spanned fifty years. Image 15