Untitled [Maquette for the Continental Building, Philadelphia, PA]

Untitled [Maquette for Philadelphia Continental Building] was envisaged for an interior space, the lobby of 400 Market Street, once occupied by the Continental Insurance Co. (hence, ‘The Continental Building’). The building was realized by architect studio Berger Caltabiano & Ascione in 1970 as part of the redevelopment of the Independence Hall historic area in downtown Philadelphia. Nivola’s design consists of three panels. Each panel is divided into five vertical bands that correspond to the total number of panels in the full-scale work. The design is conceived, characteristically, in a semi-abstract idiom, and comprises two rows of pared-down figures. The outline of two open hands visible on the figure in the foreground to the left demonstrates Nivola’s delicate handling of his material. The figures anticipate Nivola’s later sculptural work made in bronze and marble throughout the 1980s. The artist kept very close to the composition of the work in situ and worked from the negative relief when he carved the full-scale version of the work.