MOUNTAINVILLE, NY.- Storm King Art Center today announced the acquisition of The Pietrarubbia Group: il fondamento, l’uso, il rapporto (1975–76), a major large-scale work by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. The sculpture is a gift of longtime Storm King supporter Herbert Kayden, M.D., offered in memory of his late wife, Gabrielle Reem, M.D. Installation of the work, including landscaping of the surrounding area, will take place over the next few weeks.

Storm King President John P. Stern states, “In making this generous and meaningful gift, Herb Kayden has not only added a significant outdoor sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro to Storm King’s collection, but also enhanced the collection’s representation of international sculpture. The Pietrarubbia Group was exhibited at Storm King shortly after it was created, and we are thrilled that it has returned to be viewed by our visitors for years to come.”

On the occasion of the gift of the imposing sculpture to Storm King, Mr. Pomodoro stated, “The Pietrarubbia Group has a strong emotional significance for me, as it is connected and dedicated to my birthplace and in particular to the small village of Pietrarubbia, in the Montefeltro region.”

The Pietrarubbia Group
Pomodoro has described The Pietrarubbia Group as “a vision of an archaic settlement.” With its visual references to ancient burial traditions and hieroglyphics, the work commemorates the history and crumbling beauty of the nearly abandoned village for which it is named.

The Pietrarubbia Group comprises a patio upon which stand two grand, slab-like bronze doors that visitors can move, providing access to the work’s interior. Expansive areas of the doors and the wall beyond them are incised with patterns that resemble ancient signs or writing, giving symbolic voice to the forgotten society that once occupied Pietrarubbia. A somber line from a poem by Eugenio Montale, Lo sai: debbo riperderti e non passo (“You know: I must lose you again, and I cannot”) is inscribed on the reverse side of one of the doors.

The Pietrarubbia Group is being installed on Storm King’s Museum Hill, where it was exhibited in 1977.