Three of her sculptures, for example:

Scientia at MIT

ence pence at deCordova

Elegantka at deCordova

In getting to know Ursula von Rydingsvard’s sculptures, I’ve come to think of them as beings. They seem to have life and awareness of where they are. They stand in place, but they relate to us in complicated ways. The artist has shaped them, originally from cedar, during long days with tools, teamwork and intuitive attention. The artist’s website is rich with evidence of her impressive body of work as well as her intensive working processes. Fascinating stories from her early life connect with her creative focus and ongoing choices. Links to specific resources for the three sculptures here should offer enough to tell if you might become as enthralled by Ursula von Rydingsvard as I am.

Ence Pence (1997) at deCordova Sculpture Park

The grid-like interlocking of beams gives an underlying visual structure to the curving surfaces, which themselves invite the touch with their rough, furrowed textures.

The sculpture is reminiscent of geological formations, ancient fortifications, or even a huddle of human figures, approachable yet mysterious.

The surface texture of the sculpture shifts from a gently carved base to a craggy and knotted midsection to gentle undulations that climb around the top of the volume.

Captions for the photos of ence pence are quoted from the deCordova website description of this work. For more information, click here.

Elegantka (2010) at deCordova Sculpture Park

Elegantka is an exact resin cast of a 2008 sculpture, also called Elegantka, made from stacked red cedar two-by-four beams that the artist laboriously carved with a circular saw.

In the red cedar original, the sculpture appears to be expanding out precariously over its base; cast in resin, however, the piece stands as a unified object that appears to be solid and strong but also light and ephemeral.

The surface texture of the sculpture shifts from a gently carved base to a craggy and knotted midsection to gentle undulations that climb around the top of the volume.

Captions for the above photos of Elegantka are quoted from the deCordova website description of this work. For more information, click here.

Scientia (2016) at MIT, McGovern Institute for Brain Research

Scientia completed in 2016,  is about 25 feet tall,  bronze, cast from cedar forms including new processes to create lace patterns at the top. The LIST MIT Public Art site for Scientia contains a video of the artist at work on sequential stages of the piece.

Von Rydingsvard’s work has a distinctive and energetic form yet a constitutively enigmatic, often unrevealed character.

It exists ambiguously yet forcefully between abstraction and representation with registers that often prompt nuanced, unsettled, and open response.

Captions of photos above and the statement below are quoted from Patricia C. Phillips in the brochure: Ursula von Rydingsvard’s SCIENTIA.

With early childhood memories sealed
in her consciousness and somatic recall, over many years as a New
York City-based artist she has developed a courageous sensibility
for the unknowns of material experimentation and extraordinary
applications. But even new works of bronze, polyurethane resin, or
copper generally emanate from her deep attraction to wood and
legendary use of pliable cedar as a point of origin. 

Scientia at Night, slide show:

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For further exploration, visit Ursula von Rydingsvard website. As a guide during the deCordova show of her work in 2011, I received and now treasure the associated book  Ursula von Rydingsvard: Working by Patricia C. Phillips (Prestel Books, 2011).