Musical Forest 1961

Ruth Vollmer created this intriguing sculpture, ‘Musical Forest,’ with its dark, textured surface and array of upright forms. It looks like something ancient, doesn’t it? I imagine Vollmer hunched over it, building up this strange, contained landscape through a process of adding and subtracting, maybe even humming to herself as she worked. I'm drawn to the physicality of those little peaks, the way they rhythmically punctuate the space within the bowl. They remind me of the paintings of Agnes Martin, and the sculptures of Eva Hesse. It's as if each one contains a note, or a tone, waiting to be heard. I can almost feel the rough texture of the material, the weight of the bowl in my hands. I’m so moved by the way artists like Vollmer carry on conversations with one another, across time and space. They give us new ways of experiencing the world, inviting us to slow down, to listen, and to see with our whole selves.