NEW YORK, NY.- American artist Richard Serra was conferred the insignia of Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in New York on June 1st by Ambassador of France Gérard Araud. This award pays tribute to Mr. Serra’s extensive collaboration with French art institutions, museums and galleries, keen ability to marry his monumental creations with French urban and natural landscapes, and great contribution to contemporary art. Serra, who “fashions elegant, gargantuan art out of steel” (The New York Times) is known for his lead, rubber, and large-scale steel creations and is one of the most important artists in the modern times.

Serra’s works have made a major impact in France, from “Clara-Clara” (1983), two identical steel conical sections inverted relative to each other that were originally installed in the Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, to a 73-ton weatherproof steel vertical sculpture called “Promenade” in Paris’ Grand Palais during the Monumenta exhibition (2008). Serra’s art has also been displayed at several different locations in Paris – the Centre National de L’Art Contemporain, the Louvre, the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, La Défense, and the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris – as well as at other institutions around the country: the CAPC Musees d’Art Contemporain in Bordeaux and Lyon, the Musée du Brou in Bourg-en-Bresse, and in Saone-et-Loire, France.

Said French Ambassador to the United States Gérard Araud, “For the French, Richard Serra is among the greatest sculptors today. His commissions like the Octagon for Saint Eloi and Philibert et Marguerite, and of course Promenade at the Grand Palais, transform and give new meaning to the landscape through their magnitude, singular material, and the unique relationship they cultivate between the space and the viewer. In the long legacy of French artistic history, Richard Serra’s contributions are undeniable. His style has impacted all of our artists, art historians and theoreticians.”

The Legion of Honor was created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte to reward spectacular accomplishments and great services rendered to France. It is awarded based on a decision by the President of the French Republic.