Jedd Novatt (born 1958) is an American sculptor who creates dynamic, non-representational compositions of geometric forms. He is best known for his 'Chaos' series of works in either welded steel or bronze.

Life and work

Born in Brooklyn,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Novatt studied literature and sculpture at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

before moving to France to study sculpture at the Lacoste School of the Arts (now operated by

Savannah College of Art & Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a Private school, private art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, Vaucluse, Lacoste, France. It was founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not ...

). Novatt lived and worked in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

until 2002, where he was recognized for his welded and painted steel sculptures and bold, black-and-white

collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...

s. He currently resides in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France and divides his time among studios in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, New York and the Basque region in Spain. Novatt's first solo show was in 1993 at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery. Since then, his works have been exhibited extensively in galleries and museums in the United States and Europe. Novatt's works are held in numerous public and private collections worldwide. Novatt's primary motif, “Chaos”, involves constructions of cube-like forms. Whether the works are created in steel or bronze, the configuration of elements "seems to teeter as if on the point of collapse.” One critic noted: “Novatt searches to capture an instant of equilibrium in unstable and fragile situations, similar to our existential condition, but also to the particular moment that we are living.” Novatt says: "The title Chaos represents an idea that encapsulates various aspects of the definition of the word chaos. Ironically, order is a large part of the idea; or rather the realisation that order might be random. I think about this word for different reasons, but in the end the title Chaos best describes a response to many things, and full of contradictions." In 2008, Novatt unveiled a series of monumental sculptures entitled ''Chaos Vascos''. The first in the series was part of a solo exhibition at La Piscine, Musée d'Art et d'Industrie de Roubaix in France where it remains on permanent exhibition at the museum's entrance. Chaos Vascos II was selected for the Beyond Limits 2008

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

exhibition at

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family si ...

in Derbyshire, England. 2009 saw the unveiling of ''Chaos Mundaka'', the third in Novatt's series of monumental works. Chaos Mundaka I, was exhibited at Alfa Arte in Spain before being permanently installed in front of the

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. It was founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the United ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, in October 2009. ''Chaos Mundaka II'', became part of

2009 edition of Beyond Limits at

. In 2011, an American benefactor donated ''Chaos Pamplona'' to the Town of Yountville located in Napa Valley, California. This monumental work was installed on July 11, 2011. The official dedication ceremony will take place at 10am on July 16, 2011, with both the benefactor and artist in attendance. In 2012, the city of

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

, Spain installed ''Chaos Nervion'' by Jedd Novatt in the Campa de los Ingleses surrounded by the Guggenheim Museum, Raphael Moneo Library and the Cesar Pelli tower. The work was unveiled on July 27 with the Mayor of Bilbao

Iñaki Azkuna Iñaki Azkuna Urreta (14 February 1943 – 20 March 2014) was a Spanish politician of the Basque Nationalist Party. He was mayor of the city of Bilbao, Biscay in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, from 1999 until his deat ...

in attendance. In 2013, Novatt's monumental works ''Chaos SAS'' (pictured above) and ''Chaos Bizkaia'' were permanently installed in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

as part of the

Pérez Art Museum Miami Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)—officially known as the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County—is a contemporary art museum that relocated in 2013 to the Maurice A. Ferré Park in Downtown Miami, Florida. Founded in 1984 as the Cent ...

's collection. In April 2016, ''Chaos Meteoro'', an important monumental work, was unveil at Chatworth House in Derbyshire, United Kingdom. Starting in October 2021, the Pérez Art Museum Miami is holding a solo exhibition of Novatt's large-scale monotypes and small-scale sculptures, in addition to the two monumental works in the outdoor sculpture garden.

References

External links

La Piscine- Roubaix

Hamiltons GalleryHopkins Custot
* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E6D81E3AF933A05754C0A9669C8B63&scp=2&sq=jedd%20novatt&st=cse Variations on Welded Sculpture (New York Times)br>Jedd Novatt tra minimalismo e strutture primarie (Corriere della Sera)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novatt, Jedd Sarah Lawrence College alumni Living people 1958 births Artists from New York City Sculptors from New York (state)