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For immediate release

Public Art Fund presents?

Massive Cedar Bowl by Artist Ursula von Rydingsvard
On-View at the Southeast Corner of Central Park
Presented by Public Art Fund

Five graceful bronze figures to be installed in Doris C. Freedman Plaza

On view June 28, 2000 - January 2001

WHAT: As part of an ongoing program of exhibitions by contemporary artists, the Public Art Fund is pleased to present Bowl with Folds, a massive 12' tall by 16' in diameter sculpture by Ursula von Rydingsvard at Doris C. Freedman Plaza (Fifth Ave. at 60th Street).

Renowned for her meticulously carved, cut and layered cedar artworks, von Rydingsvard creates beautifully rendered sculptures and abstracted forms. Using chisels and circular saws, von Rydingsvard carves out expressive marks that make subtle references to the human figure, the landscape, and various domestic objects. These evocative forms of ordinary, household items such as bowls and farm tools are recurring icons in von Rydingsvard's work that speak of her childhood memories of growing up in Germany during her during World War II. Bowl with Folds is the epitome of von Rydingsvard's style of larger-than-life, accumulative sculptures.

Ursula von Rydingsvard was born in 1942 in Deensen, Germany to parents of Polish descent. Her family immigrated to the United States in 1950, and settled in Connecticut. In 1973, she moved to New York City to pursue graduate studies at Columbia University. In 1975, she began working with cedar beams after discovering the ease of mark making onto the soft wood, as well as its great outdoor durability. Von Rydingsvard has exhibited extensively throughout the United States including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Storm King Art Center, the Nelson Atkins Museum, among many others.

WHEN: Installation Tuesday, June 20th through Thursday, June 22nd, 8 am to 4 pm.
Opening June 28th through January, 2001.

WHERE: Doris C. Freedman Plaza, the southeast corner of Central Park (5th Ave. at 60th St.)

About Public Art Fund
Public Art Fund is New York's leading organizer of artists' projects, new commissions, installations and exhibitions in public spaces. With 25 years of experience and an international reputation, the Public Art Fund identifies, coordinates and realizes a diversity of major projects by both established and emerging artists in New York City. By bringing artworks outside the traditional context of museums and galleries, the Public Art Fund provides a unique platform for an unparalleled public encounter with the art of our time.

The Public Art Fund is a non-profit arts organization supported by generous contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations, and with public funds from The New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs.

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Contact:
Public Art Fund
tel: (212) 980-4575
e-mail: press@publicartfund.org