Richard Rhodes

Rhodes' drawing and sculpture – one of four abstract stone volumes at the heart of a private residence.

Richard Rhodes (born 1961) is an American sculptor, stonemason, entrepreneur, and scholar of stonework worldwide.

Life and career Born in California, Rhodes studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1981. Through his study of medieval ritual and research, Rhodes apprenticed as a stonemason in Siena, Italy, after graduate school. Working with the operative branch of the Freemason's guild in Siena, Rhodes studied the Sacred Geometries and the Sacred Rules of Bondwork as passed down through the medieval guild of the Freemasons. Rhodes credits his guild training as a major influence in his sculptural practice. His work is textural and often draws on the expressive hand finishes Rhodes' learned during his training and apprenticeship in Italy.

Several of his commissions incorporate antique stone objects such as salvaged and worn pavements or stair blocks. (2003) and SuttonBeresCuller created Ship in a Bottle] (2007) by lowering a sail boat into the courtyard. Untitled – Stone Wave (2004) has created a unique exhibition space at the Tacoma Art Museum that "may be the single most dramatic exhibition space in the Northwest. "

Pieces from the Sentinel Series, including Sentinel I and Embrace, were featured in the Sculpture by the Sea – Bondi and Sculpture by the Sea – Cottesloe in Sydney (2012) and Perth (2013) respectively. Of Embrace, Sentinel Series, Tom Flynn of The Sculpture Agency writes "Seattle-based sculptor and designer Richard Rhodes’ Embrace: Sentinel Series, comprising two chunky interlocking forms in carved granite, was among the few truly stand-out works, beautifully executed and open to multiple readings. It seemed perfectly at home overlooking the ocean. Brancusi would have liked it." The sculpture was represented by the Hotham Street Contemporary Gallery in Melbourne, Australia and now resides in a private collection in Aspen, Colorado.

As an artist, Rhodes combines the aesthetics of traditional stone construction with contemporary building techniques. Rhodes' current projects include a series of hand carved stone tables meant as monumental outdoor gathering places. The tables have architectural qualities, featuring dovetail joints, butterfly joints and other construction techniques unusual for stone. Rhodes produces his bronze works at the Fonderia artistica Battaglia in Milan, Italy. at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, titled "Materiality", a lecture at the Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design, titled "Working in a Culture of Chaos: Building Global Infrastructure in the Developing World", an Arts & Lecture Series sponsored by Il Punto in Seattle, Washington titled "The Last Apprentice", and a lecture at the China Academy of Art on invitation by Wang Shu titled "Paths in Stone: China, Material and Modernization".

Rhodes' AIA accredited lectures include "Stone Specification", "Adaptive Re-Use of Reclaimed Stone Materials", "The Sacred Rules of Freemasonry: The Underlying Rules of Stone Design", "Dimensional Stone – Ancient Traditions, Modern Practice", and "The Grain of Stone: Implications for Design and Fabrication".

In 2020, Rhodes gave a TedX Seattle talk on his career and working with stone entitled Hammer, chisel, stone: simple tools for hard moments.

Architectural stone and architectural design In addition to his sculptural practice, Rhodes used his academic and practical training in masonry and business to found and direct three companies specializing in architectural stone. Through the architectural stone companies, Rhodes has worked with notable architects and firms. His stonework contribution to Olson Kundig Architects' Hong Kong Villa is featured on the cover of Jim Olson: Houses. Rhodes Architectural Stone, under Rhodes' direction, supplied the stonework chosen for the cover photographers of Peter Pennoyer Architects and New Tropical Classics, Hawaiian Homes by Shay Zak.

With Rhodes Architectural Stone, Rhodes purchased 17 villages behind the Three Gorges Dam project in China and successfully recycled the antique stone material into construction of architectural projects in the United States.

Projects that incorporate the salvaged stone work include the fireplace and powder room sink at the Telluride House featured in Western Interiors and Design; the stonework salvaged for the project included a 500-year-old stone threshold "[where the] patinas are just incredible. " Rhodes also created Stone Wave at the Tacoma Art Museum in 2003 with 700 pieces of re cut and transported pave stones from the Pearl River Delta in Southern China. According to Rhodes, the stone, "[has]this fantastic texture...you get almost a sheen to the stone from the wear. "

Chronology of work 2019 Poseidon, Bronze, Gig Harbor, Washington 2018 Resolute Arch, Granite, Burning Man Festival, Black Rock City, Nevada 2017 Lithic Altars, Granite, Burning Man Festival, Black Rock City, Nevada 2016 Connection (Sentinel Series), Granite, Yellowstone Club, Montana 2016 Seminar Table (Artist Furniture Series), Granite, Fujian, China 2016 Sentinel I and II Bronze, bronze, London, England and Aspen, Colorado 2015 Sentinel V, Sandstone, Guemes Island, Washington 2015 Sentinel IV, Sandstone, Kona, Hawaii 2014 Forest Gathering, Granite and Sandstone, Bainbridge Island, Washington 2013 Embrace (Sentinel Series), Granite, Sydney and Perth, Australia 2012 Four Abstract Volumes, Quarried Granite Blocks, Palm Desert, California 2012 Untitled – Modernist Oven, Granite, Melbourne, Australia 2011 Sentinel I (Sentinel Series), Granite and Bronze, Seattle, Washington 2011 Sentinel II (Sentinel Series), Granite and Bronze, Woodinville, Washington 2010 Earth Tone, Wood and PVC, Burning Man Festival, Black Rock City, Nevada 2010 Ignition, Reclaimed Granite, Seattle, Washington 2009 Maher Headstone, Reclaimed Granite, Seattle, Washington 2008 Westerleigh Residence, Hard Limestone and Granite, Greenwich, California 2008 Hillside Ruin, Limestone, Seattle, Washington 2008 Untitled – Trough and Ruin, Reclaimed Granite and Limestone, Crested Butte, Colorado 2006 Untitled – Woven Screens, Sandstone, Kona, Hawaii 2004 Untitled – Stone Wave, Granite, Tacoma, Washington 2002 Summer Palace, Granite, Hillsborough, California 2002 Untitled – Park Bench, Reclaimed Granite, Redmond, Washington 2001 Cross Roads Park – Planned Parenthood, Granite, Seattle, Washington 1995 Untitled – Furo, Reclaimed Granite, Redmond, Washington 1992 Shadow Box Fire Box, Refractory Brick and Limestone, Highlands, Washington 1992 Untitled – Entrance Walls, Basalt, Ephrata, Washington 1992 Untitled – Basalt Spray, Basalt, Ephrata, Washington 1991 Glasshouse Fireplace, Granite, Seattle Washington 1991 Woodland Spring, Basalt, Orcas Island, Washington

Written works by Richard Rhodes Doing Business Abroad Raises Ethical Concerns Survivor: Trapped in New Orleans During Katrina, I used business skills to get home safely Stone Expressions: Stone Expression and Use in the Built Environment, a forthcoming collection of text and photographs exploring the history and practice of stone work Stone: Ancient Craft to Modern Mastery, Stone presents the closely kept “Sacred Rules” developed over centuries by the medieval Freemason Guild, previously available only to the initiated.