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.
Bronze
15th-16th centuryItalianTerracotta, traces of white slip
4th-1st century BCEGreekCypress wood with pigment: multiple-block construction
18th-19th centuryJapaneseBuff sandstone. From Yungang, Shanxi province.
5th-6th centuryChineseStone
4th-1st century BCEEgyptianLeaded bronze
5th-2nd century BCEIberianHard paste porcelain
18th centuryGermanBronze
20th centuryAmericanPlaster
20th centuryByzantineClay
6th-7th centuryMexicanSteel with paint
20th centuryAmericanMolded, gray earthenware with cold-painted pigments and gold leaf over white ground
7th-8th centuryChinese