Ursula von Rydingsvard Builds Large-Scale Sculpture for Brooklyn's Barclays Center

It will stand 19-feet tall.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Ursula von Rydingsvard is a noted sculptor who has had works included in many permanent collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. She has been working out of Brooklyn for the past 35 years. She is known for making personal large-scale works painstakingly made out of cedar. Currently the artist is working on a piece that will be displayed at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

The work to be displayed is named "Ona," a 19-feet installation made with a circular saw and many 4x4s. The sculpture, which will sit in front of the subway that leads to the arena, looks like a natural occurring land formation in the shape of a bowl (many of her works take on familiar, soothing shapes like bowls, pods, fabric, and spoons). However, her new work will show a departure of style. In the end, the sculpture will be bronze, cast directly from a to-size creation. This was done for pragmatic reasons and because the smooth exterior will be "more mellow," the artist said.

Molten bronze is poured into wax molds of Von Rydingsvard's model, a method called lost wax casting. Then, a metal stain, a patina, is applied to create a honey color. Although her new work has more mechanical construction this time around, the artist applies the color herself, showing her trademark intimacy with works. She feels the piece has a spirit, referring to it as a she or her. "Ona, in Polish, references the female," the artist said. "Something in movement, anxiety or temperament related to the female."

The sculpture will be erected sometime this summer.

[viaInterview]

Latest in Style