Among the Bonds series, Bonds XVIII stands apart for its pronounced anthropomorphic presence. The segmented ceramic elements assemble into a figure that reads unmistakably as bodily: a head-like form, articulated shoulders, and a grounded stance that suggests posture rather than symbol. At 71 inches high, the sculpture operates just below life scale, creating an intimate but insistent encounter that places the viewer face-to-face with the work rather than beneath it.
Among the Bonds series, Bonds XVIII stands apart for its pronounced anthropomorphic presence. The segmented ceramic elements assemble into a figure that reads unmistakably as bodily: a head-like form, articulated shoulders, and a grounded stance that suggests posture rather than symbol. At 71 inches high, the sculpture operates just below life scale, creating an intimate but insistent encounter that places the viewer face-to-face with the work rather than beneath it.
Unlike the more lustered pieces in the series, the matte glazed surface here emphasizes volume and relief over reflection. The modeling recalls archaic figuration filtered through modern reduction, aligning the work with postwar sculptural approaches that strip the human figure to essential signs. The work resonates with strands of Italian Arte Informale and postwar figuration, where artists such as Luciano Minguzzi and Leonardo Leoncillo reduced the human figure to mass, rhythm, and pressure rather than descriptive detail.
Here, connection is no longer abstracted into emblematic joins but enacted through bodily continuity. The figure appears held together by its own weight and stance, proposing a quieter, more human counterpoint within the Bonds series—one where presence replaces monumentality, and recognition precedes symbolism.
