Ursula von Rydingsvard is known for transforming the shapes of everyday objects like spoons, plates, and bowls into monumental wooden forms with geological and mythic resonances. The artist created this twelve-foot, eight thousand-pound work by amassing and shaping hundreds of individual chunks of red cedar and rubbing them with graphite, replicating the long-term effects of natural erosion. The mold was then cast in bronze, allowing the resultant sculpture to keep the color of stone and the surface textures of wood. According to the artist, “the structure of the bowl is a means by which I can understand almost anything…principally because it hints at so many sensations.”
Purchased by the Williams College Museum of Art through the generosity of Alicia V. and Peter B. Pond ’67. M.2000.5.