Accession Number
2002/2.136

Title
Ironclad

Artist(s)
Clay Foster

Object Creation Date
1998

Medium & Support
mesquite wood

Dimensions
15 1/4 in x 5 in x 5 in (38.74 cm x 12.7 cm x 12.7 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen

Label copy
A self-taught woodturner from Texas and founding member of the American Association of Woodturners, Clay Foster’s work has gained him a spot in the international spotlight. He credits African art and culture as a significant influence and views his use of patterns as a means of communication.
Ironclad’s pattern speaks through its patchworking of metal and wood and declares Foster’s desire to overcome his “Western fixation on uniformity, regularity, symmetry, and precision.” And yet, in Ironclad, the artist still incorporates some symmetry—circles and lines are repeated throughout—from the lines around the rim and base of the work to the lined lozenge wood patches and circular studs bolting the iron patches to the vessel.
from the exhibition Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, June 12 – October 3, 2004

Primary Object Classification
Sculpture

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
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Keywords
wood (plant material)