Four things to see: Sculpting wood

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Each week we bring you four of the most interesting objects from the world’s museums, galleries and art institutions, hand-picked to mark significant moments in the calendar.

Wood carries within it the story of its own formation, each ring marking the passage of time. As a medium for sculptors, it offers both resistance and possibility – tough enough to endure centuries yet responsive to subtle manipulation.

The choice of wood itself can be a statement too: the Jamaican sculptor Edna Manley, for example, who was born 125 years ago this week, worked primarily with woods native to her home country, including yakka, mahogany and juniper cedar. Manley’s preference for local materials reflected her deep connection to Jamaica’s cultural identity and landscape. She understood how the wood’s natural properties – its grain, colour and density – could become integral to the artwork’s meaning. This week we explore four works that demonstrate the enduring appeal of wood as a sculptural medium.

Installation view of Canoe Man, Plains Image and Untitled (1988), by Truman Lowe. Photo: Michael Lagerman; courtesy Truman T. Lowe Estate/Sculpture Milwaukee

Canoe Man, Plains Image, Untitled (1988), Truman Lowe
Sculpture Milwaukee

Truman Lowe was an artist from the Ho-Chunk Nation, a native people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. In his minimalist sculptures, he often used pine wood, commonly found in the American Midwest, and incorporated influences from traditional Ho-Chunk art and craft with natural imagery. This trio of sculptures consist of two wooden figures and an untitled assemblage. Despite the titles of the works, all three are abstract and gestural, evoking basket-making techniques, birds, bows and arrows, water and other motifs central to the Ho-Chunk Nation. Click here to find out more on the Bloomberg Connects app.

Prophet (1935), Edna Manley. National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston

Prophet (1935), Edna Manley
National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston

Carved during a period when disaffection with British rule was on the rise in Jamaica, Prophet embodies both political awakening and spiritual power. Manley campaigned for self-government and her husband, Norman, was a leading politician in Jamaica and one of the key figures in bringing about independence in 1962. Manley’s use of mahogany in Prophet ties the piece to Jamaican soil and, like many of her wooden sculptures, it plays with ideas around power: here, a monumental figure appears to flex his arms, or perhaps break invisible chains, in a work that evokes both strength and struggle. Click here to learn more.

Holding 17 Years of Growth (It Will Continue to Grow Except at that Point) (1968–85), Giuseppe Penone. Fondazione De Fornaris, Turin. Photo: © Archivio Penone; © the artist

Holding 17 Years of Growth (It Will Continue to Grow Except at that Point) (1968–85), Giuseppe Penone
Fondazione De Fornaris, Turin

In this remarkable fusion of the artificial and the natural, a leading figure of the school of Arte Povera Giuseppe Penone creates a sculpture through intervening in the growth of a living ash tree. By gripping the tree with his hand and then casting a metal hand in the same position, Penone causes the tree to grow around the metal form. The work exemplifies the artist’s interest in the intersection of human presence and natural processes, allowing the tree itself to become both medium and collaborator. Click here to find out more.

Wisdom (1974), El Anatsui. Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Lagos. © the artist

Wisdom (1974), El Anatsui
Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Lagos

Part of the artist’s ‘Wood Pieces’ series, this sculpture transforms found wooden market trays into a canvas for symbols traditionally found on Ghanaian textiles. Using hot iron bars, Anatsui burns Adinkra characters into the wood, each one representing a specific concept or proverb. As with so many of Anatsui’s works, the appearance of simplicity can be deceiving: what appears to be a wooden tray in fact encases a wealth of Ghanaian history and tradition. Click here to read more.

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