American Art Collaborative

Ibram Lassaw's sculptures resembling spiny sea forms were inspired by coral reefs, which he saw as "living sculptures." To create Banquet, he painstakingly added one drop of melted bronze to another, mimicking the natural growth of the coral. He then added different chemical patinas to give the work a variety of colors that evoke an underwater environment. Lassaw thought this piece "peculiar" because he normally created entirely abstract constructions that did not resemble anything. In the early 1960s, however, he started creating more representational works in response to the declining popularity of his work. (Ibram Lassaw Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution; Lassaw, "Perspectives and Reflections of a Sculptor: A Memoir," Leonardo, January 1968
"Banquet is one of my most original sculptures—peculiar to me and the style I am known best for—it really is me at my best." Ibram Lassaw, interview with Glenn Randall