Spheric Theme, 1973–74

Spheric Theme is an iconic work by the Russian Constructivist artist Naum Gabo. Its intersecting stainless-steel plates and hollow, netted center represent the culmination of the artist’s studies in stereometry—the measuring of space. With his knowledge of engineering, Gabo desired to progress art to the level of modern science. In his view, art was weighed down in the solidity of ancient times, while modern engineers had discovered new methods of design and construction to allow for lighter, stronger, and more efficient structures. The effect, created by the sculpture’s circulating reflective elements, is ethereal. Gabo emphasized that the work’s essential qualities are both spatial and spiritual: it “is not an image of anything but itself.” The concept of time is also a key element in Spheric Theme. Gabo and his brother, the artist Antoine Pevsner, wrote in their 1920 Realistic Manifesto that they define time in terms of life. As Gabo would later say of the continuous and yet fragile loops of Spheric Theme: “Nothing is more durable than life. And it is a work of life.”