Reviews of Ursula von Rydingsvard

On Friday, February 18, the AAPNYC Seminar class went to see Ursula von Rydingsvard Sculpture, 1991-2009, at The Sculpture Center in Long Island City. You can find out more about the exhibition here:
http://sculpture-center.org/exhibitionsExhibition.htm?id=75981

Here are the reviews for this exhibition.

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Review of Ursula von Rydingsvard at the Sculpture Center

Ursula von Rydingsvard’s show “Sculpture 1991-2009” at the Sculpture Center is dazzling. The sheer workmanship that Rydingsvard applies to each of her regal monumental cedar and resin sculptures was breathtaking. The Sculpture Center only contributed to the beauty of the works being the perfect setting to house these larger than life works, with its high ceilings and outdoor garden space, allowing her sculptures to fill the room as they stretched towards the ceiling and expanding across the floor and wall.

The show consists of Rydingsvard’s wooden works as well as one of her resin works that occupy the main floor of the Sculpture Center. These works as the title of the show implies are several of the pieces that have given Rydingsvard her renown in the art world as they span a period of eighteen years. Upon entrance into the show, the viewer understands who Rydingsvard is as an artist, as her works dominate the space and attest to Rydingsvard’s skill and address the themes of nature and domesticity

The works themselves seem timeless as they simultaneously carry the appearance of the archaic and the modern. And her manipulation of the material makes one in awe of the works’ physical presence. Furthermore their shapes evoke a sense of recognition on part of the viewer as certain shapes such as the plate, the spoon, and the bowl allow the viewer to form a personal association with the work. In addition, despite their domineering presence there is a playful nature about them, making one wish to crawl into or enter into one of the bowls or tunnels that Rydingsvard creates within her sculptures. This aspect of the work returns to the fact that the spaces within her sculpture evoke a familiar shape.

The layout as mentioned before, contributed to the dynamic nature of the show. The juxtaposition of her towering cedar structures to her expansive wall and floor structures allowed for the viewer to easily grasp an understanding of Rydingsvard’s work. The relatively smaller resin sculpture outside the Sculpture Center invites the viewer in, as its bluish glow and rock like shape evokes cavern gemstones and crystals as well as the glow of the ocean. And once inside the viewer enters into a large space with high ceilings giving life and breath to the works. The one work, which is separated by a wall, “Ocean Floor,” stands alone, but its massive and expansive nature fill every corner of the space. This separation allows the piece to shine and stand out, where it might otherwise be lost amongst her other works that are juxtaposed in the other room.

“Ursula von Rydingsvard: Sculptures 1991-2009” is a terrific show that emphasizes the skill and creativity of the artist and is displayed in a manner that highlights all the work and connects them all to the artist Ursula von Rydingsvard. The show, the works, the workmanship of the works, and the connections felt to the natural material and the familiar shapes, proudly state the greatness of Ursula von Rydingsvard.

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Having never been to SculptureCenter before, seeing the size and form of Ursula von Rydingsvard’s “Sculpture 1991-2009” exhibition within the large warehouse space was pretty amazing upon first entry. The semi-abstract wooden sculptures were reminiscent of ancient monuments or forms of fantasy, scattered throughout the space. The large pieces were beautifully crafted and assembled to give a feeling of the interaction between the human and nature. Although I experienced a certain shock due to the ancient monumental feel of Rydingsvard’s works, for many of the pieces I found myself staring up at the massive ceilings of the SculptureCenter after a minute. This was not out of a sense of boredom as much as it was a sense of distraction due to the overpowering surrounding space.

The work seemed to reference earth art, but rather than emphasizing the ephemeral, it stressed the artifact and the object as a sort of relic. The large wooden forms reminded me of Andy Goldworthy’s large stone cairns and earlier works such as Robert Smithson’s “Spiral Jetty,” but at the same time ancient or mystical ruins or monuments. This play between the mystical and odd as well as human interaction with nature came through, but it wasn’t fully stimulating to me.

The press release for the exhibition emphasized the “great psychological force and powerful physical presence,” of von Rosingvard’s work. While this may have been present, the work did not have a significantly striking impact on myself. The effectiveness and mysterious nature of the sculptures seemed to be limited by their surroundings. Although the sculptures were of enormous size, the space around them was even larger. Rather than the space emphasizing the works, the works seemed to be emphasizing the large room and very large ceilings. The lack of interesting interaction with the space around the sculptures kept them from realizing their potential.

The one work that was very successful at defying this critique, was “Ocean Floor,” a large wooden bowl that occupied an entire smaller room off of the SculptureCenter main floor. With dried cow intestines hung around the edges, this piece had a similar aesthetic as Rosingvard’s other work, but the interaction of this giant 13-foot bowl and the small room helped emphasize the nature of artifact and mystery within the piece itself. The other works may have accomplished a similar effect had they been in spaces that were smaller and served to emphasize rather than distract from the large wooden sculptures.