Ursula von Rydingsvard

(Germany) *1942 in Deensen

The artist, who emigrated to the United States in 1950, makes sculptures of cedarwood beams, cut lengthwise. She uses this wood, as recalcitrant as it is pliant, for all her works. In an intuitive work process, the beams cut into planks are stacked individually one on the other and glued. Once the work has found its final form, graphite is rubbed into the red surface of the cedar, which is then worked with steel wool. The strongly worked surface and the irregular contours lend the abstract sculpture an archaic feel. The shape of a bowl, that primordial vessel, has long since been an important point of reference for her. Like “Bowl with Fins”, shown at “Blickachsen 5”, the “Bowl with Mounds” displayed this year interprets this theme. Bowls have since time immemorial served as containers for food; in other words, the shape is closely connected with notions of fertility and domestic life. The wood itself, its fragrance and tactile properties trigger countless sensations.

Exhibits

Blickachsen 6

Blickachsen 5