Custodia 1960

Mathias Goeritz made this sculpture, Custodia, out of iron, and it’s industrial, almost medieval. Look at the way the metallic grey iron has been wrought. I imagine Goeritz in his studio with the tools of the metal shop—the torch, the hammer, the anvil. He’s bending, cutting, and welding the metal, shifting and shaping this Custodia from raw material into something symbolic. There’s a big circle and a tiny circle, an arrow, and a propeller, a spiral… each form has been meticulously crafted and welded to the next. Each gesture communicates feeling, intention, and meaning. What was Goeritz thinking, playing with these forms? Perhaps he was in conversation with other artists. This Custodia embraces ambiguity and uncertainty. It allows for multiple interpretations. Custodia: is it a safe place or a reference to the eye and the act of seeing?