Balance

Balance, by Roy Patterson is a sculpture carved in 2005.  The material is black basalt from Maine — more specifically from Jesse Salisbury’s basalt quarry in Steuben. It was first exhibited in the International Sculpture Exhibition at the Coral Springs Museum of Art in Florida, where Patterson was an artist-in-residence during January and February of 2006. Roy Patterson is from Grey, Maine, and has also completed major public art commissions through the Maine Arts Commission’s Percent for Art program.

The basalt for Balance was selected for its sensuous surfaces and abstracted figurative form. It was then split and reassembled with polished facets. It invites a hand over its surface and will not be harmed by this interaction.

This piece is a variation on a theme returned to several times. The first, long ago version was titled “Dream” and was based on the Bible story of Jacob’s dream. A later version was titled “Evensong”. Eventually Patterson’s emphasis became focused on the arrangement of forms — hence the title of the piece, Balance.

This sculpture is one of several generously donated to the City of Portland and the Jetport by William D. and Mary Louise Hamill.