Zephyrus, 1980

Zephyrus represents a major departure from the hard-edged, geometric forms of the sculptures in the geometric minimalism series (his earliest), as Raimondi evolved to embrace much more fluid, organic forms inspired by the natural world. Named for the Greek god of the west wind and light spring and early summer breezes, Zephyrus was created specifically for the site where it rises from the sands on Nantucket Island. Having spent several months in an isolated house there as a guest of two patrons, Phillip and Charlotte Mason, Raimondi read Henry Beston’s The Outermost House, an American classic similar to Thoreau’s Walden, that describes a year Beston spent in a tiny, remote property on the beach at the tip of Cape Cod. “I was inspired by Nantucket,” Raimondi recalls, “A great light went on, it seemed, at my very core. It was an awakening both artistically and sexually. I felt I was no longer limited to the personal in my work. I could open my heart up to the universe.”