1950/1958
Walter Gropius commissioned this relief for a dining room in the Harvard Graduate Center's Harkness Commons, which opened in 1950. The tables and chairs soon damaged the lower parts of the relief, prompting Arp to rearrange it in 1958 to a more compact configuration titled Constellations II. Although Arp referred to the work as a relief, it is closer in form and spirit to installation art. In a relief, the design is carved from and fixed to its ground; in Constellations II, 13 of Arp's signature biomorphic shapes executed in American redwood attach directly to the wall. Their installation across two walls surrounds the viewer to create an immersive space.
Harvard Law School, transferred; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2017.
Hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamel decoration, and gilding
18th centuryGermanUnique cast bronze
20th centuryAmericanLeaded copper
2nd-1st millennium BCEGreekPlaster
19th centuryItalianTerracotta
3rd-1st century BCEEtruscanTerracotta
3rd-2nd century BCEGreekBronze
10th century BCEIranianBiscuit porcelain
18th centuryFrenchClay
21st centuryMexicanWhite jasperware head on blue ground
18th centuryBritishWhite jadeite with emerald green markings; the stone of Burmese origin
19th centuryChinese