Thistle in the Dream (To Louis Sullivan) 1956

Theodore Roszak made this metal sculpture, Thistle in the Dream, as a tribute to architect Louis Sullivan. The surface of the metal is pitted and rough, with an almost geological quality, like the craggy surface of a mountain. I love the way Roszak coaxes the metal into these sharp, organic forms. Those spiky edges are so suggestive of growth, and decay, of something caught between flourishing and fading. Look closely at the way the metal seems to bloom from the center, pushing outwards in these twisted, thorny shapes. It's like the material itself is caught in a moment of transformation, a dance between strength and fragility, echoing the way Sullivan’s architecture married the industrial with the organic. This piece reminds me of how Lee Bontecou could coax such life and tension from steel, too. Art's always about these conversations, isn't it?