Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon Portland Community College

Landforms, 1988 and 2005 by Richard Helzer

  • Title: Landforms, 1988 and 2005
  • Artist: Richard Helzer
  • Medium: Wood & metal
  • Size: 126"h x 312"w
  • Added to collection: 2005
  • Donor: Purchased by Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus and Gift of the artist
  • Campus: Rock Creek
  • Location: B7 N Stairwell

Known for his generosity as artist and as teacher, Richard Helzer started the art and art history programs at PCC Rock Creek and for many years also ran the gallery that now bears his name. Helzer studied at Portland State University and was a studio assistant for Frederic Littmann, a renowned Northwest sculptor. While Helzer was comfortable with the vocabulary of abstraction, he loved the challenge of depicting the human form. And while he was adept at casting and assembling compositions, he enjoyed the direct physicality of carving and working in clay. Landforms was originally installed in Rock Creek's building 2. Helzer reworked and enlarged the sculpture when he moved it to its current location in Building 7. Thanks to Helzer's generosity and that of his family, the Rock Creek campus collection contains a wide range of this artist's important pieces.