George Segal

American sculptor
American, (1924–2000)
Segal is best known for his life-size sculptures of human figures set in environments. Although he began as a figurative painter in the late 1950's along with artists such as Allan Kaprow and George Brecht, he turned to sculpture in order to explore the human figure as it relates to actual space and its surroundings. Segal's early work is often treated within the framework of Pop Art, because of the reference to the individual's position within mass culture and the examination of the relationship between fine and popular art. Later his work reflected social concerns. These works consist of plaster molds cast from living models in order to capture life like gestures, placed in environmental tableaux, which lock them in time. Although most of his figures remain white, in his later work he began painting them in vivid colors.