Nagelbach has given the installation the working title of “looking up.” He says that the trail trees and pictographs of preliterate, mid-continent Native Americans suggest the shapes used in symbolic systems of communication, such as punctuation, shorthand, and writing. The themes he used to create this sculpture include alphabets, punctuations, scrivener’s tools, and fruit. “The library,” Nagelbach says, “is a repository of the fruits of the mind.” The materials are wood, steel, aluminum, and bronze.

Nagelbach was born in Liebling, Banat, Romania. He earned a B.A. Degree in geography from Valparaiso University and an M.F.A. Degree in sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Germany, where he earned a Certifikat from the Akademie der Bildende Künste, München. Nagelbach’s work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and is included in many collections. Currently, he teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.