Ursula von Rydingsvard: Sculpting Memory and Monumentality in Wood
Ursula von Rydingsvard is a pioneering American sculptor best known for her monumental, organic forms carved primarily from cedar wood. Her deeply textured, often monumental works exude a quiet emotional power, evoking both the resilience of nature and the complexities of human experience. With a career spanning more than four decades, von Rydingsvard has firmly established herself as one of the most important sculptors working today.
Born in 1942 in Deensen, Germany, to a Polish mother and Ukrainian father, von Rydingsvard spent her early childhood in refugee camps across Europe during and after World War II. Her family emigrated to the United States in 1950, settling in Connecticut. These formative years of displacement, survival, and trauma left an indelible mark on her psyche and artistic sensibilities. Von Rydingsvard pursued higher education in the arts, earning an MFA from Columbia University in 1975. Her exposure to Abstract Expressionism, as well as a personal drive to carve out her own artistic language, propelled her toward sculpture. She found her calling in the tactile, labor-intensive process of working with cedar, a material both rugged and yielding, natural and enduring.
Cedar wood, with its distinctive grain, scent, and softness, is central to von Rydingsvard’s practice. She cuts, stacks, laminates, and meticulously carves the wood, creating massive, textured forms that feel simultaneously ancient and contemporary. The artist often burns, stains, or rubs graphite into the surfaces, further enhancing the depth and visual complexity of each piece. Her work blurs the line between sculpture and architecture, often towering over viewers like living, breathing entities. Despite their size, her forms possess an undeniable intimacy—each cut and contour bearing the imprint of the artist’s hand and memory.
Von Rydingsvard’s sculptures are deeply autobiographical, drawing on themes of displacement, resilience, and the passage of time. Though abstract, her forms often evoke vessels, shelters, garments, or totemic figures. These associations are not accidental—they reflect the artist’s memories of domestic life in the refugee camps and her heritage steeped in manual labor and folk tradition. Her works are also rooted in a dialogue with nature. Towering, root-like structures seem to rise from the earth, while others resemble geological formations or weathered tree trunks. This connection to the natural world is less about representation and more about embodiment—her sculptures feel grown rather than built.
Ursula von Rydingsvard’s impact on contemporary sculpture is profound. She has redefined the possibilities of wood as a medium in modern art, combining traditional craftsmanship with expressive abstraction. Her works resonate not only for their aesthetic power but for the human stories they carry—of survival, labor, and the relentless pursuit of form. In a world increasingly dominated by the digital and ephemeral, von Rydingsvard’s art remains defiantly physical and grounded. It reminds us of the enduring connection between hand, material, and memory—carved one mark at a time.
Looking for a piece or want to learn more about this artist?
Website: ursulavonrydingsvard.net
