cover image The Sculpture of Ursula Von Rydingsvard

The Sculpture of Ursula Von Rydingsvard

Dore Ashton. Hudson Hills Press, $45 (108pp) ISBN 978-1-55595-122-1

Environmental sculpture, with its looming scale and often site-specific settings, is the only possible medium in which European emigre artist and child of WWII Ursala Von Rydingsvard feels she can meditate on history's physical presence. Richly carved dark woods, beam upon beam or block upon block, form giant ""Lace Mountains,"" ""Hand Rollers"" or ""16 Handrests,"" whose abstract, almost minimalist yet majestic and humane effects are well documented in the 27 color and 48 b&w photos. Three interpretive essays , including one by Dore Ashton, enhance the volume.