Ursula von Rydingsvard: The Contour of Feeling

Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote, “We don’t know the contour of a feeling; we only know what molds it from without.” Inspired by the enigmatic shape of emotion, Ursula von Rydingsvard has become famous for her large-scale sculptures, her abstract shapes, and her signature use of cedarwood, which together evoke the power and majesty and mystery of nature.

Guest-curated by Mark Rosenthal, this exhibition catalog illuminates van Rydingsvard’s artistic development since 2000, examining her predilection for emotionally charged, visceral art that is hand-wrought, richly complex, and monumentally scaled. Featuring more than twenty-five sculptures that highlight the artist’s evolution, as well as a new leatherwork sculpture created in collaboration with the Fabric Workshop and Museum, an extensive interview between Mark Rosenthal and the artist, and an essay by von Rydingsvard titled “Why I Make Art,” this book provides a window into the artist's unique synthesis of emotional fragility and imposing scale.

The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia was founded in 1977 to stimulate experimentation among leading contemporary artists and to share the process of creating works of art with the public. It is an internationally acclaimed contemporary art museum.