On June 11, the acclaimed artist’s 25-foot bronze sculpture will be unveiled at one of the world’s largest private collections at The Donum Estate.
Cradled by the gentle hills of Sonoma County, Sanford Biggers’ Oracle has found a new home at The Donum Estate—a sanctuary of art and nature. At 25 feet tall and weighing over 15,000 pounds, the piece—an iconic work from Biggers’ Chimera series—joins The Donum Collection, one of the world’s largest accessible private sculpture collections. But this isn’t just another installation for the acclaimed artist; it marks a homecoming of sorts, both for the artwork and Biggers himself.
“It’s really fulfilling its destiny,” Biggers shared during our conversation about Oracle’s evolution. “In the truest tradition of an oracle, it’s an object that you would have to make a pilgrimage to—a place where you journey to consult it to get whatever answers or responses that you were looking for.” Originally commissioned by Art Production Fund in partnership with Marianne Boesky Gallery, the sculpture debuted at New York’s Rockefeller Center in 2021, then made its way to Los Angeles’ Hammer Museum in 2023. Now, it stands proudly amid The Donum Estate’s vineyards, surrounded by more than 60 large-scale works from artists around the globe.
The artist’s work—rich with references and layered symbolism—merges African and Greco-Roman influences to address historical revisionism and the “whitewashing” of classical sculpture. The seated figure of Oracle evokes the Zeus at Olympia, while its head draws from African masks and busts, challenging traditional narratives and revealing complex cultural histories. The throne, adorned with lotus blossom silhouettes, nods to Biggers’ 2007 work Lotus, itself a meditation on the slave trade and its enduring legacies.
But Oracle’s transition from bustling urban centers to the tranquil Donum Estate introduces a new dimension. “It’s a place that’s more contemplative and meditative,” Biggers explained. “People have to go off the beaten path to find it, but once there, they’re rewarded with the serenity around the piece and the ability to engage with their thoughts and themselves.”…