Lelong

Ursula von Rydingsvard

07 Sep - 21 Oct 2006

URSULA VON RYDINGSVARD
Sylwetka

Galerie Lelong, New York, begins its 2006-2007 season with an exhibition of major cedar works by the sculptor Ursula von Rydingsvard, including a 13-foot-tall cavernous “wall pocket” and a pair of immense wall-mounted plates. Each measuring over 10 feet in height, the plates exemplify von Rydingsvard’s practice of creating monumental figures of forms taken from daily life, and they serve as the centerpiece of the exhibition. Sylwetka opens to the public on Friday, September 8, from 5:30 to 7:30, and the artist will be present.

Meaning “silhouette” in Polish, Sylwetka focuses our attention to von Rydingsvard’s increasing emphasis on the line of the sculpture, seen against the physical space. In recent years, von Rydingsvard has concentrated on opening up the exterior faces of the sculpture, with protruding forms and pronounced outlines, as if she has drawn into the rough surface of the wood. Building upon the scale of her epic vessel forms, von Rydingsvard introduces new aspects to the viewer, such as the pair of plates, a “table” and a series of smaller works, representing an expansive vocabulary.

The show is on view concurrently with Mad. Sq. Art: Ursula von Rydingsvard, an outdoor exhibition of four sculptures at Madison Square Park, New York. For “Damski Czepek,” the physical and conceptual centerpiece of the show, von Rydingsvard used a translucent resin, a departure in medium for the artist. Created specifically for Madison Square Park, ”Damski Czepek” captures and radiates natural light, inviting people into its bonnet-like space with its sensuous grace and extruding tendrils. Also on view is “Czara z Babelkami,” an intricate bowl figure that, at nearly 17 feet in height, impresses as both massive in stature and intimate in detail.

Ursula von Rydingsvard presented her first solo exhibition in New York in 1975 and has since been exhibiting in museums and galleries worldwide. Her sculpture can be found in the permanent collections of over 30 museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Walker Art Center, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, High Museum of Art, and Detroit Institute of Arts. She has major permanent commissions on display at the Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington; Bloomberg Building, New York; and Queens Family Courthouse, New York. Beginning in December of 2006, her “River Bowl” will be exhibited at the Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami. Mad. Sq. Art: Ursula von Rydingsvard is on view at Madison Square Park through December 31, 2006.
 

Tags: Ed Atkins, Ursula von Rydingsvard