Tom Joyce, Folded Bowl, 1993, forged iron, 4 x 16 x 15 in. (10.2 x 40.6 x 38.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Virginia McGehee Friend, 2001.14, © 1993, Tom Joyce
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Folded Bowl
- Artist
- Date
- 1993
- Location
- Dimensions
- 4 x 16 x 15 in. (10.2 x 40.6 x 38.1 cm)
- Copyright
- © 1993, Tom Joyce
- Credit Line
- Gift of Virginia McGehee Friend
- Mediums Description
- forged iron
- Classifications
- Object Number
- 2001.14
Artwork Description
Folded Bowl is one of many that Tom Joyce has created based on the Fibonacci numbers, a sequence discovered by the thirteenth-century Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci. These refer to the proportions that seeds, leaves, or the segments of a nautilus shell take on as they grow. Joyce “folds” seven feet of metal into an angular composition, then hammers the iron to stretch and curve the sections into a bowl form that resembles an unfolding flower. The piece is then patinated with rainwater and burnished with hot wax.