A new show of work by Season 4 artist Ursula von Rydingsvard opens tomorrow, September 1, at the Portland Art Museum in Oregon. This exhibition, the first one of von Rydingsvard’s work in the Pacific Northwest, presents a major sculpture, Pod Pacha, and a series of dynamic new drawings completed during the artist‚Äôs Italian residency as a recipient of a 2007 Rome Prize.
The German-born, New York-based artist, internationally recognized for her massive carved cedar sculpture, creates a dialogue between intimate gesture and architecture in the highly articulated and complex surfaces of her work. Years ago, the New York Times praised von Rydingsvard’s work for “standing on its own, shunning the influence of Minimalism‚Ķ putting emphasis on the handmade and the associative.” As von Rydingsvard explains in the upcoming companion book to the PBS series, Art:21‚ÄîArt in the Twenty-First Century 4,
“If I were to say how it is that I break the convention of sculpture (and I’m not sure that’s what I do or even if that’s what I want to do) it would be by climbing into the work in a way that’s highly personal, that I can claim as being mine. I have this feeling that the more mine it is, the more I’m able to break the convention.”
This exhibition, marking the first time von Rydingsvard shows her drawings, runs from September 10 to December 30, 2007. The artist will speak on her work and practice as they relate to her current installation on September 16. Read more about the exhibition and view related images here.
