Manuel Neri | |
|---|---|
 Sculptor Manuel Neri in his Carrara, Italy studio, 1983; photo by Sally Larsen | |
| Born | Manuel John Neri Jr. April 12, 1930 Sanger, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 18, 2021 (aged 91) Sacramento, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | California College of Arts and Crafts (1951–1952; 1955-1956), California School of Fine Arts (1956-1958) |
| Known for | Sculpture, also drawing, painting and printmaking |
| Movement | Bay Area Figurative Movement, Funk art |
| Awards | Guggenheim Foundation - Fellowship (1979) National Endowment for the Arts - Individual Artist Grant (1980) American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters – Award in Art (1982) San Francisco Arts Commission – Outstanding Achievement in Sculpture (1985) San Francisco Art Institute – Honorary Doctorate (1990) California College of Arts and Crafts – Honorary Doctorate (1992) Corcoran School of Art – Honorary Doctorate (1995) Orange County Museum of Art - Distinguished Artist Award (1999) International Sculpture Center - Lifetime Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture (2006) San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - Bay Area Treasure (2008) |
Manuel John Neri Jr. (April 12, 1930 – October 18, 2021) was an American sculptor who is recognized for his life-size figurative sculptures in plaster, bronze, and marble. In Neri's work with the figure, he conveys an emotional inner state that is revealed through body language and gesture. Since 1965 his studio was in Benicia, California; in 1981 he purchased a studio in Carrara, Italy, for working in marble. Over four decades, beginning in the early 1970s, Neri worked primarily with the same model, Mary Julia Klimenko, creating drawings and sculptures that merge contemporary concerns with Modernist sculptural forms.