Ruth Asawa

(American, 1926–2013)

Ruth Asawa was an American artist known for her intricate sculptures based on sinuous organic forms. Using galvanized wire, stone, and bronze, Asawa crafted nest-like works inspired by native Mexican basket-weaving techniques. “I was interested in it because of the economy of a line, making something in space, enclosing it without blocking it out. It’s still transparent,” she said of her materials. “I realized that if I was going to make these forms, which interlock and interweave, it can only be done with a line because a line can go anywhere.” Born on January 24, 1926 in Norwalk, CA to Japanese immigrants, her early life was blighted by her family’s detainment in a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II. After the war, Asawa left California in pursuit of a teaching degree from Milwaukee State Teachers College. Met by discrimination in Milwaukee, the artist abandoned her teaching degree and ventured to Black Mountain College in Asheville, NC. While at Black Mountain College, she studied under prominent artists such as John Cage, Josef Albers, Buckminster Fuller, and Merce Cunningham. Asawa died on August 5, 2013 in San Francisco, CA. Today, the artist’s works are in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

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Ruth Asawa Artworks

Ruth Asawa (163 results)

Petunias (P.032), 1984

Ruth Asawa

Petunias (P.032), 1984

Price on Request

S.391/50, ca. 1958

Ruth Asawa

S.391/50, ca. 1958

Michael Rosenfeld Gallery

Price on Request

Cabbage (P.021), 1984

Ruth Asawa

Cabbage (P.021), 1984

Price on Request

Cineraria (P.018-I), 1979

Ruth Asawa

Cineraria (P.018-I), 1979

Price on Request

Bronze Flower, 1979

Ruth Asawa

Bronze Flower, 1979

Composition Gallery

Price on Request

Bronze Flower, 1979

Ruth Asawa

Bronze Flower, 1979

Alpha 137 Gallery

Price on Request

Desert Star (P.004, Tied wire tree with..., 1987

Ruth Asawa

Desert Star (P.004, Tied wire tree with..., 1987

Price on Request

Untitled (P.001) - Tied wire tree with six..., 1995

Ruth Asawa

Untitled (P.001) - Tied wire tree with six..., 1995

Rena Bransten Gallery

Price on Request

Eight-Branched Bronze Wire Form, 1966

Ruth Asawa

Eight-Branched Bronze Wire Form, 1966

Jeffrey Spahn Gallery

Sold

Modernist Hanging Form, ca. 1960

Ruth Asawa

Modernist Hanging Form, ca. 1960

Jeffrey Spahn Gallery

Sold

Untitled (Tied-Wire), 1975

Ruth Asawa

Untitled (Tied-Wire), 1975

Sale Date: March 13, 2024

Auction Closed

Desert Star (P.004, Tied wire tree with..., 1987

Ruth Asawa

Desert Star (P.004, Tied wire tree with..., 1987

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (S.2005, Hanging Open Five Petaled..., 2005

Ruth Asawa

Untitled (S.2005, Hanging Open Five Petaled..., 2005

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (S.645 Hanging Three-Lobed Single..., 1958

Ruth Asawa

Untitled (S.645 Hanging Three-Lobed Single..., 1958

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (S.408, Hanging Five-Lobed,..., 1953

Ruth Asawa

Untitled (S.408, Hanging Five-Lobed,..., 1953

Sale Date: October 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Mask of Roy Baxter

Ruth Asawa

Mask of Roy Baxter

Sale Date: September 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Petunias, 1984

Ruth Asawa

Petunias, 1984

Sale Date: September 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Untited, 1992

Ruth Asawa and Merry Renk

Untited, 1992

Sale Date: September 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Tulips, 1994

Ruth Asawa

Sale Date: September 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1983

Ruth Asawa

Untitled, 1983

Sale Date: September 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Desert Star, 1987

Ruth Asawa

Desert Star, 1987

Sale Date: September 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Mask of Yvonne Baxter, 1978

Ruth Asawa

Mask of Yvonne Baxter, 1978

Sale Date: September 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Mask of Calvin Baxter, 1978

Ruth Asawa

Mask of Calvin Baxter, 1978

Sale Date: September 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Composition

Ruth Asawa

Sale Date: July 11, 2023

Auction Closed

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English (US)

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