Well of the Concubine Pearl 1967

Barbara Chase-Riboud created this sculpture called 'Well of the Concubine Pearl' with bronze and aluminum. It is a form in dialogue: a shiny metal crown meets a weighty mass of textile. I think of her in the studio, wrestling with such different materials. What's it like to coax such diversity into a single being? The grey, rope-like base feels ancient, like something you'd unearth from the sea floor. Look at the tassels which hang like stalactites – as if time itself has dripped down and hardened. Then there is the silvery top – smooth, cool, and futuristic by contrast. I can imagine her considering the work of Eva Hesse, Louise Bourgeois, and Jackie Winsor, all artists committed to radical forms of making. Like them, Chase-Riboud makes the process of making central to the work. Each action, each decision, is evident. She shows you how the sculpture came into being, shifting and emerging through the labor and vision of the artist.