Quanta of Space

Remembered as a pioneering and prolific Abstract Expressionist artist whose otherworldly sculptures seemed drawn from the ocean depths and distant galaxies, Ibram Lassaw (1913–2003) is less well known for his wearable sculptures. Like his large-scale works, the Bosom Sculptures as he called them, were inspired by Lassaw’s extensive readings on topics as varied as Zen Buddhism, cosmology, and quantum physics. Between 1951 and the late 1990s, Lassaw produced an extraordinary array of jewellery in forms quite unlike any other artist at the time. Employing unique combinations of metals as well as the many novel techniques, colours, and forms he had developed for his large sculptures, Lassaw’s welded and braised necklaces, though simple in design, remind us of everything from sea anemones to nebulae with their elaborate biomorphic tendrils and interconnected clusters.

Published to coincide with an exhibition at Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa, Quanta of Space: The Bosom Sculpture of Ibram Lassaw features 37 unique pendants and necklaces alongside nine full-size sculptures that Lassaw created between 1938 and 1996. Supplementing essays, offering insight into his life and times and the dynamic forces which inspired him, are contributed by Nancy G. Heller, professor emerita at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia; Denise Lassaw, the artist’s daughter, collaborator, and archivist; and Marin R. Sullivan, scholar of art history, curator, and writer.