Begin Again: Untitled
By Ursula von Rydingsvard
August 29, 2026 – August 27, 2028 | Outdoor Galleries: Art Hike Trail
Begin Again: Untitled by Ursula von Rydingsvard is the third installment in Laumeier’s Begin Again series, which honors the Park’s 50-year history of collaborating with artists and supporting new commissions and exhibitions.
Von Rydingsvard’s original installation Untitled, 1988-89, was a monumental yet reflective work and a longtime public favorite in the Park’s collection. However, material decomposition and limited conservation resources ultimately required the sculpture to be permanently taken off view.
Begin Again: Untitled, 2026, is a reimagining of von Rydingsvard’s original commission for Laumeier, transforming one of the artist’s original 45 carved cedar, tub-shaped chambers into a singular sculpture cast in bronze.
Working against the conventions of sculpture, von Rydingsvard sought an extremely personal connection to her work, knowingly employing materials with a limited shelf-life, and embracing beauty in gradual decay. When the work was installed, von Rydingsvard was engaged in a movement that challenged notions of large-scale sculpture and public art.
For this new iteration, von Rydingsvard has reduced the original collection of 45 chambers, arranged in a grid pattern, down to a singular chamber set inside a quiet clearing. This newly configured version of Untitled expands on her interest in the relationship between nature and natural materials. The choice of bronze communicates a density and intended permanence. Along with careful coloration of the patina, the sculpture beautifully translates the intricacy of her original wood carving technique.
Begin Again: Untitled will be on view beginning August 29 and will become a permanent addition to the Park’s collection.
“ I am beyond excited to reintroduce Ursula’s work Untitled to the Park’s collection. As one of the most influential sculptors of her generation, who approaches her practice with a unique depth and sensitivity, reinstalling this piece and in this way will solidify her history with Laumeier and her legacy as an artist. - Curator Dana Turkovic”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ursula von Rydingsvard received a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from the University of Miami, Coral Gables in 1965. She received her Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University in 1975, and an honorary doctorate from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore in 1991. Selected solo exhibitions include: The Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT; Galerie Lelong, New York; National Museum in Krakow; The Denver Botanic Gardens; The Royal Łazienki Museum, Warsaw; The Center for Polish Sculpture, Orońsko; The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C.; Philadelphia Museum of Art; The Fabric Workshop & Museum, Philadelphia; The Art Institute of Chicago; la Biennale di Venezia, Giardino della Marinaressa, Venice; Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton, England; Stiftung Sculpture at Schoenthal, Langenbruck, Switzerland; SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah; Sculpture Center, Queens; deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland; Frost Art Museum, Miami; Storm King Art Center among many others. Von Rydingsvard has received many awards, including a Joan Mitchell Award (1997); an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1994); fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (1983) and the National Endowment for the Arts (1979, 1986). Von Rydingsvard lives and works in New York.
2026 Exhibitions are supported by Whitaker Foundation, Ken and Nancy Kranzberg, Joan and Mitchell Markow and Two Sister’s Foundation, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, and Mary Ann and Andy Srenco.
Begin Again: Ursula von Rydingsvard, Untitled is supported by PNC Foundation.
