Bronze Flower, 1979

Renowned for her public commissions and intricate wire sculptures, Ruth Asawa was an activist and sculptor, often drawing on nature and geometry as the inspirations for her work. Asawa’s earliest wire sculptures featured an initial stem of 200-1000 wires that would all branch off into various geometrical patterns; she then began to explore different ways to preserve her sculptures and would stand them in chemical tanks for months at a time until they began to develop a rough, green texture that resembled coral or tree-bark – perfectly exemplifying her nature-centric style. Asides from her work with wire, Asawa created a number of fountains for the city of San Francisco; one of her most renowned fountains is situated near Union Square – for this piece, she had 200 school-children use dough to create hundreds of images of the city, the dough was then cast in iron as a solid creation. (Artist website)