Inducktion, 2010
Duckish, 2014
Mort Golub
Wood, terracotta, paint, signed and dated on base
8 inches (20.3 cm) high and 10.5 inches (26.7 cm)
#7392 #7393

Two irresistible, quirky duck figures from the studio of Mort Golub. The first posesses the torso of a Pre-Columbian terracotta figure, which has been joined to the weathered head of an old duck decoy. His consort wears a pink dress from an old doll, a fragment of one arm from some other abandoned creature and the haughty head of decapitated decoy.

See the article Mort Golub: From Mahakala to Outsider Art by Thomas Murray in the Spring 2024 issue of Tribal Art Magazine.

Artist's Statement: I began making sculpture in 1993. My inspiration came from collecting and studying tribal art and antiquities. The paleolithic roots of this art became much clearer to me as the continuum of forms began to reveal itself.

My particular interests became centered on the masking traditions of the Himalayas, and in the early 1990s, when great masterpieces were still available, I began collecting masks from this area. Living with such pieces was very revealing and led me from painting to making sculpture.

Many of the ancient broken and discarded objects that I had been collecting became incorporated into my work. I try to preserve original surfaces and patinas that show the passage of time and use as much as possible. Starting in 1996, I began doing gallery shows as well as selling to the general public through my studio.

$1500 each, sold separately