Featuring 14 of her large-scale sculptures, Ursula von Rydingsvard: Sculpture premieres at the Madison Art Center on March 1, 1998. Organized by Madison Art Center director Stephen Fleischman with the full support of the artist, this is the first traveling exhibition to comprehensively survey the indoor work of this important American sculptor. After completing its run at the Art Center, the exhibition will travel to the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; the Chicago Cultural Center; and The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu.
Ursula von Rydingsvard's wood sculptures resonate with a sense of history and human presence. Their varied shapes and surfaces, while essentially abstract, suggest the human figure, landscape elements, household utensils, and farm implements. Her work is partially influenced by memories of the German work and refugee camps where she spent the early years of her life before emigrating to the United States. The titles and forms of her sculptures also recall the countryside and tools familiar to her Polish farming family.
Ursual von Rydingsvard in her studio working on Siepa Gienia (Blind Eugenie) for installation at the Denver Art Museum and Columbus Museum of Art, 1993 Sculpting mainly with cedar since the mid-1970s, von Rydingsvard has developed a hybrid technique that involves both constructing and carving her works. In his introduction to the exhibition catalogue, Stephen Fleischman writes:
"Von Rydingsvard employs repetitive processes, layering and removing material like the natural forces of erosion. Yet this methodical approach allows for a high degree of improvisation. Her sculpture seems to take form in a subconscious state, where the artist's mind makes connections based on the shapes that appear before her."
She frequently applies graphite or paint to the highly textured and complex surfaces of her sculptures. The flexibility of her technique allows her to construct both intimate and extremely large-scale work.
Von Rydingsvard's work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art; the CAPP Street Project, San Francisco; the Denver Art Museum; and the Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland. Her sculpture is included in major public collections such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum , and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Her outdoor work has been installed at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden; the Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, NY; and the Laumeier Sculpture Park in Saint Louis, among other sites.
von Rydingsvard's studio Ursula von Rydingsvard: Sculpture is accompanied by a richly illustrated hardbound catalogue documenting the exhibition and the artist's career. The publication contains an essay on von Rydingsvard's work by Martin Friedman, director emeritus of the Walker Art Center, along with a comprehensive checklist, biographic profile, and bibliography.
Ursula von Rydingsvard: Sculpture has been organized by the Madison Art Center. Major funding for the project has been provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Additional support has been provided by a grant from the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission, with additional funding from the Madison Community Foundation; The Art League of the Madison Art Center; the Exhibition Initiative Fund; the Madison Art Center's 1997-1998 Sustaining Benefactors; and a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin.