| NEWPORT, R.I. (December 22, 2025) – Fifty-one years after Monumenta transformed Newport with one of the world’s first large-scale outdoor sculpture exhibitions, FULL CIRCLE revisits that groundbreaking moment through the enduring practice of Richard Fleischner.
The genesis of the exhibition is Fleischner’s enduring, site-specific earthwork Sod Maze at Chateau-sur-Mer, now enriched by the recent gift of more than twenty artworks, drawings, and studies related to Sod Maze, generously donated by Fleischner to the Preservation Society of Newport County. These newly acquired works, including original sketches, notes, and archival materials, shed fresh light on the evolution of Sod Maze and illuminate the unifying concepts that inform Fleischner’s process.
Presented in dialogue with works by fellow Monumenta artists Christo, David Smith, Claes Oldenburg, Alexander Liberman, and Barnett Newman, the exhibition situates Fleischner’s practice within a wider community of innovators who defined art in the landscape in the last quarter of the 20th century. FULL CIRCLE reunites Monumenta artists in Newport for the first time since 1974 juxtaposing related works with a fresh perspective.
FULL CIRCLE not only looks back to Monumenta but also forward to Fleischner’s contemporary practice, including a selection of encaustic work exhibited for the first time along with preparatory materials for Flesichner’s ongoing installation at Rowdy Meadow in Ohio. There, Fleischner’s work has truly come full circle as he is once again sited among contemporary masters including Richard Serra, Anish Kapoor, and Andy Goldsworthy.
Full Circle follows the arc of Fleischner’s career and traces a continuous line from Monumenta’s pioneering vision to the lasting relevance of modern and contemporary sculpture today.
On view February 6 – May 3, 2026 at Rosecliff, Newport, RI. |
