Wright Auction

Pomodoro’s first job...was as a civil engineer aiding in the reconstruction of buildings that had been destroyed in WWII; the effects of the war...had a profound effect on his entire oeuvre.

A gleaming, shiny sphere ruptures, the cracks forming in its surface revealing craggy crust and jagged, gear-like teeth. From this strange, fantastical mix of primordial and mechanical elements emerges a second sphere, itself torn asunder and appearing to undergo yet another phase of annihilation and renewal. Arnaldo Pomodoro remarked of this sculptural concept that it “reflects and accommodates the environment with its own complex mix of imagery that can be seen as both humanistic and technology-oriented: a smooth exterior womb erupted by complex interior forms. Timely in its introduction, the sculpture is intended as a metaphor for the coming of a new millennium, a promise for the rebirth of a less troubled and destructive world.” Pomodoro’s first job, prior to becoming an artist, was as a civil engineer aiding in the reconstruction of buildings that had been destroyed in WWII; the effects of the war and his involvement in healing its architectural wounds had a profound effect on his entire oeuvre, with his sculptures, in particular, being defined by themes of destruction and regeneration.

Sfera con sfera (or Sphere Within Sphere), was originated by Pomodoro in the 1960s and executed in many iterations over the course of decades and into the 21st century. The present work is a scaled-down edition of the Sfera con sfera he gifted to the United Nations in 1991, which has since stood in the United Nations Plaza in New York. Dina and Jerry Wind greatly admired Pomodoro's work and had the opportunity to visit his studio and meet with him during their travels in Italy; at the time of their visit, they were not drawn to any of the works he had available. A few years later, as Jerry recalls, they came across the present lot at auction and were immediately entranced. Jerry had long admired the monumental Sfera con sfera in the UN plaza; it is kismet, perhaps, that the Winds were able to acquire this particular work.

Other versions of the sphere series are installed at the Vatican, The Berkeley Library at Trinity College in Dublin, Tel Aviv University, and The Hakone Open-Air Museum in Kanagawa. Regardless of their location, Pomodoro’s half-organic, half-mechanical spheres become intimately related to their surroundings and their viewers, as the artist explained:

"The concerns of my work as an artist have always centered on the relationship between the individual sculpture and the space in which it is sited."

The concerns of my work as an artist have always centered on the relationship between the individual sculpture and the space in which it is sited. A sculpture, indeed, is the realization of a space of its own within the greater space in which it lives and moves. When a work transforms the place in which it is located, it takes on the valence of a true and proper witness of the times that spawned it, and thus places a mark on its context, enriching it with additional layers of memory. Today I think of my sculptures as crystals, or nuclei, or as eyes, or signal fires; and I see them as relating to borders and voyages, to the worlds of complexity and imagination.

By revisiting, exploring, and carving open what, at first glance, may seem a simplistic form, Pomodoro opens endless doors into which the viewer is invited to reflect upon the universal and profound concepts of destruction, creation, and renewal.