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Sculptor Erik Durant is locally renowned for his public art commissions, such as the giant squid “attacking” the New Bedford Whaling Museum, a seated portrait of Elizabeth Taber in Marion that invites viewers to join her, and the Fishermen’s Monument on the New Bedford waterfront, depicting a family separated by the age-old call of the sea.
For Durant, balancing personal artistic endeavors with public commissions has been key to his success as a working artist.
“Public commissions are when somebody comes to me and says, ‘Hey Erik, I want you to make this.’ It’s a bit different because the initial idea comes from someone else, dictating the subject matter,” he said. “To be successful as an artist, you have to be open to that.”
While public commissions may not always align with his personal artistic vision, Durant finds ways to connect his own experiences with the subject matter to inform his creative process.
“When I was working with the [Fishermen’s Tribute Fund Committee], I realized I’m not a fisherman myself. I haven’t been out on a fishing boat,” Durant said. “But I am a son and a father. I tapped into my own experiences.”
Durant often injects personal experiences into his work. For example, the figure of the boy bidding farewell to his fisherman father in the Fishermen’s Monument was modeled after Durant’s own son, capturing the universal emotion of saying a final goodbye.
Though Durant’s sculptures are representational, their origins lie in abstraction. His artistic process involves finding movement within the body, understanding the relationship between shapes in space, and embracing the flow of forms.
“I seek the simplifications of gestural movement, which then evolves towards representational art, one end of the artistic spectrum,” he said. “Abstraction is a crucial part of my process.”
His sculptures typically begin as clay miniature “sketches,” serving as the foundation for the lifelike finished pieces cast in bronze.
“I start with a gesture sketch, focusing solely on capturing movement and pose rather than details,” Durant said. “It’s very abstract in that sense. This gesture sketch, for example, is the basis for the Fishermen’s Monument in New Bedford.”
Designed for interaction, Durant’s public art pieces invite audience engagement, whether it’s sitting beside a figure or shaking hands with a sculpture.
“When I created Tom Lopes, his outstretched hand invites people to shake it. I approached it from the perspective of how one would naturally shake hands,” Durant said. “I remember when it was unveiled, seeing some of his family members, particularly one woman, who nuzzled into it, allowing the sculpture’s arm to embrace her. It was a beautiful, simple moment.”
David Walega is a photojournalist from the South Coast whose work has appeared in publications around the world. Email him at dwalega@newbedfordlight.org.
