ST LOUIS, MO.- Laumeier Sculpture Park announces Untitled, a reimagining of Ursula von Rydingsvard’s 1988-89 commission. The project is the third installment in Laumeier’s Begin Again anniversary series, which honors the Park’s 50-year history of collaborating with artists and supporting new commissions and exhibitions.
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Ursula von Rydingsvard
By Patricia Phillips
Explore Ursula von Rydingsvard’s powerful sculptural practice through cedar, monumental form, organic texture, abstraction, memory, and the physical language of contemporary art.
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At the heart of the series is Begin Again: Years and Counting, an indoor exhibition, along with three new outdoor commissions by Juan William Chávez, Ursula von Rydingsvard, and Alison Saar. Each artist was invited to revisit a decommissioned work they originally created for the Park. The resulting commissions will take the form of a reinterpretation, a rebuild, or a new work inspired by the original.
Von Rydingsvard's original installation was a monumental yet reflective work and a longtime public favorite in the Park’s collection. However, material decomposition and limited conservation resources ultimately required the sculpture to be permanently taken off view.
As curator Dana Turkovic reviewed the Park’s 50 years of exhibitions and commissions, she was reminded of the many temporary and ephemeral works that shaped Laumeier’s history. Begin Again revisits past projects and reflects Laumeier’s continued commitment to expanding representation and supporting the work of women and artists of color.
“This reflection led to a desire to bring some of these projects back to life,” said Turkovic. “Begin Again explores the ephemerality of sculpture, despite its traditional associations with permanence and heavy physical presence.”
Working against the conventions of sculpture, von Rydingsvard sought a deeply personal connection to her work, knowingly employing materials with a limited shelf-life, and embracing beauty in gradual decay. When Untitled was installed in 1989, von Rydingsvard was engaged in a movement that challenged notions of large-scale sculpture and public art.
For this new iteration, von Rydingsvard has reduced the original collection of 45 carved red cedar chambers, once arranged in a grid pattern, down to a singular chamber cast in bronze. Begin Again: Untitled will be on view beginning August 29 and will become a permanent addition to the Park’s collection.
Set within a quiet clearing along Laumeier’s Art Hike Trail, the sculpture is a representation of her artistic legacy and deepening of her original conceptual methodology. This newly configured version of Untitled expands on her interest in the relationship between nature and natural materials. The choice of bronze communicates a density and intended permanence. Along with careful coloration of the patina, the sculpture beautifully translates the intricacy of her original wood carving technique.
Curator Dana Turkovic explains: “I am beyond excited to reintroduce Ursula’s work Untitled to the Park’s collection. As one of the most influential sculptors of her generation, who approaches her practice with a unique depth and sensitivity, reinstalling this piece and in this way will solidify her history with Laumeier and her legacy as an artist.”
