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Composed of wire webs embedded with chunks of colored glass, these small dynamic sculptures were Falkenstein’s scaled models for her most famous work: The New Gates of Paradise, a set of doors commissioned by art collector Peggy Guggenheim for her palazzo in Venice. One critic described Falkenstein’s work as “Jackson Pollock in three dimensions,” relating her freeform wire work to gestural abstraction in painting.
Falkenstein often experimented with materials and techniques to make smaller-scaled jewelry. For her jewelry, she continued to explore the connection between matter and space, while also considering how the piece was worn on the body.
Model for garden gates
Claire Falkenstein (American, 1908–1997)
1961
Medium/Technique
Painted copper wire and glass
Dimensions
17 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 1 in (44.5 x 36.8 x 2.5 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Peggy Guggenheim
Accession Number64.317
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Americas
ClassificationsSculpture
Composed of wire webs embedded with chunks of colored glass, these small dynamic sculptures were Falkenstein’s scaled models for her most famous work: The New Gates of Paradise, a set of doors commissioned by art collector Peggy Guggenheim for her palazzo in Venice. One critic described Falkenstein’s work as “Jackson Pollock in three dimensions,” relating her freeform wire work to gestural abstraction in painting.
Falkenstein often experimented with materials and techniques to make smaller-scaled jewelry. For her jewelry, she continued to explore the connection between matter and space, while also considering how the piece was worn on the body.
Provenance1964, gift of Peggy Guggenheim (b. 1898 - d. 1979), Venice, to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 11, 1964)
Copyright© Falkenstein Foundation, By Permission.