Off view


American, 1927–2009
Gox #4, 1975
Stainless steel
9 ft. x 6 ft. 6 in. x 28 in. (274.3 x 198.1 x 71.1 cm)
Purchased with the aid of funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and gift of the Ralph E. Ogden Foundation
© Estate of Ernest Trova
Photo by Jerry L. Thompson
The brushed stainless steel surface of Ernest Trova’s Gox #4 shines on a bright day. Upon closer viewing, the negative space in the large cutout abstraction seems to hint at the shape of a figure. A self-taught artist, Trova started his career as a window designer at the age of seventeen. His earliest paintings were inspired by Willem de Kooning and the poet Ezra Pound, and were followed by collages and junk assemblages. Gox #4 is one in a series of works whose titles stand for “GeOmetric eXercise.” Trova is best known for his iconic 1960s Falling Man series, featuring anti-heroic figures presented in a variety of media.