"Sculpture as a metaphor for an Idea", the exhibition's title, represents a principle dear to Ferber according to which sculpture must have the capacity to embody a lucid and strong mental process and therefore possess a metaphorical value that conveys abstract ideals. His sculptures beginning in the 1950s, after having completely abandoned figuration, are made up of familiar shapes that are then elaborated upon until the compositions become almost unrecognizable.
Ferber transforms the formal elements into plastic qualities, connoted as considerably modulated and chromatically active surfaces, which at the same time are as valid as handwriting, field lines that cleave the internal volume of the shape, giving it a new dynamism that frees it from gravitational bonds and a sense of movement conveyed by the perfect balance of moments and pauses.
In his rarely exhibited drawings, we gain a deeper and more thorough understanding of artist. From watercolor to pen and ink, from pastel to mixed technique and acrylic - on any paper quality, Ferber demonstrates how despite being self-taught he managed to master a wide variety of techniques and processes. By modeling and highlighting the shapes, but also with the use of perspective, Ferber in his most abstract sheets is still able to communicate a sense of volume and space.
Furthermore, an investigation of the relationship between preparatory studies and finished works, many of the drawings on display tell the story that leads to the material creation of the sculptures presented as it highlights the dense network of exchanges between the creative process and the experimentation of an expressive system.
