Cunene Series

Sculptor Owen Morrel discusses with interviewer Paige Laino his participation in Socrates Sculpture Park’s inaugural exhibition (1985–86), including how he was connected to the park through arts patron Ruth Cummings and Whitney Museum director Adam Weinberg, and recounts installing his sculpture “Anchor” near the East River with founder Mark di Suvero. Morrel traces his path from ceramics training at the School of Visual Arts and Brooklyn Museum to metal sculpture, describing public art projects across 1970s–80s Manhattan and Brooklyn, including an unauthorized rooftop installation that landed on the cover of the Village Voice and a landmark-approved piece on the McGraw-Hill Building. He situates Socrates within the wider downtown New York art scene of the period, recalling personal connections to figures such as Julian Schnabel, Gordon Matta-Clark, Keith Haring, and Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The interview closes with reflections on his later life, career, and the loss of his wife, alongside his observations on how the freewheeling, low-cost art world of Manhattan no longer exists.