Outdoor Sculpture Collection

Tony Rosenthal (American, 1915-2009)
Pass-Thru, 1988
Welded and Painted Steel

Hofstra University Museum Collections, Gift of the artist, HU88.9

The artist Tony Rosenthal encouraged people to touch or interact with his sculptures by sitting on them, walking through them or feeling their surfaces. His works were not created to be hidden or surrounded by greenery, but rather to be displayed in a city-like environment on pavement or blacktop surfaces.  Rosenthal stated, “There is beauty about things under construction, a getting-down-to-bare-bones fundamental that I want to showcase in an aesthetic manner.”  Color was another important element in Rosenthal's work.  Pass-Thru is a T-shaped steel form maze that became part of the Hofstra University Museum's permanent collections through a generous gift from the artist in 1988.