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Minimal, heavy, and solid, yet semmingly fluid, Horn's series of glass forms is arguably her most significant body of work. The forms are magical, appearing to hold still water in their center openings, just as they hold and command the space around them. Like all her art, these forms explore how the environment shapes us, and how space ultimately creates our view of the world by altering our perceptions. The title for this sculpture comes from a text in the book Artful by Ali Smith, and it refers to a photograph taken by Lee Miller in Leipzig, Germany, at the close of World War II as the allies took the city. As this title illustrates, all of Horn's work is based on language. As a way to share and connect with the viewer, she collects quotes that move her, to use as titles for her pieces. For four decades Horn has significantly contributed to the art of our time through her investigations of space and natural phenomena in drawings, prints, photographs, installations, and sculpture.

Source: DMAC News Jan Fen Mar Apr 2022


DimensionsOverall: 20 3/8 × 36 × 36 in., 1785 lb. (51.8 × 91.4 × 91.4 cm, 809.7 kg.)
Accession Number 2021.71
Classificationssculpture
ProvenanceArtist; (Hauser & Wirth, New York); Des Moines Art Center [purchased from the previous, 2021]
Untitled (“... the girl [in the photo] is the daughter of the Leipzig Bürgermeister, she’s just committed suicide. The girl... looked like she was asleep ... but the layer of dust on her lips and face, on her perfect row of teeth, dust from streetfighting and explosions, meant that now she was just another surface in the room.”)
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines