Au Guggenheim Bilbao, l’infinie poésie des sculptures aériennes de Ruth Asawa
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is hosting the first major European retrospective of American artist Ruth Asawa, showcasing her signature hand-woven wire sculptures. These delicate, organic forms, which challenge gravity and play with transparency, are presented in dialogue with the museum's monumental architecture. The exhibition traces her journey from a childhood spent in Japanese-American internment camps during WWII to her formative years at the legendary Black Mountain College under the mentorship of Josef Albers.
This retrospective is a significant milestone in correcting the historical oversight of Asawa’s work in Europe, where she remains relatively unknown compared to her American contemporaries. By highlighting her innovative use of Mexican basket-weaving techniques and her commitment to arts education, the show recontextualizes her as a pivotal figure of 20th-century modernism whose practice seamlessly integrated craft, community engagement, and formal abstraction.