Designer/Maker:
Myrna Nobile – 20th Century American Sculptor
A unique voice in the 1960s San Diego contemporary art scene, Myrna
Nobile received her M.A. and B.A. degrees from San Diego State College
where she studied with John Dirks and Jack Hopkins among others. Her
body of work in cast bronze and aluminum, executed from 1965 –
1970, was well received in the area. Dirks still has one of her bronzes
in his own collection since Nobile was one of his favorite students.
She was an active member of the San Diego Art Guild, won several top
awards at the Southern Clifornia Exposition at Del Mar, and was one
of the few female artists involved with the casting of large abstract
forms in San Diego at the time. She worked intimately with small-scale
local foundries located in Golden Hill and Barrio Logan to produce
her sculpture. Nobile also traveled to Italy where she was allowed
to work in the Tommasi Foundry where Jacques Lipchitz had worked in
the early 1960s. Her work was exhibited in the La Jolla Museum of
Art and at Orr’s Gallery and she taught sculpture at the University
of San Diego. Early in the 1970s Nobile began to work primarily with
found objects and assemblage. Her works in aluminum, bronze and enameled
bronze are a reflection of her thinking during the late 1960s.
Description:
Abstract blossoms are cast in bronze and then enameled to
create this sculpture on a solid walnut base. Nobile was particularly
pleased with this combination since it was very uncommon to enamel
on bronze at the time. Her technique allowed her to sparingly add
the color and texture of glass to the otherwise rugged surface of
the bronze. Signed.
