The work of American artist Barbara Chase-Riboud spans a range of media including sculpture, drawing, poetry, and literature. Chase-Riboud’s practice has been influenced by extensive travels through Egypt, Greece, China, Cambodia, Italy, and France. Since the 1960s, she has primarily resided in Paris. She often incorporates global histories and narratives into her practice, from sculptures evoking ancient Egyptian figures to a series memorializing the American activist Malcolm X. In works like Tantra #4, 2007, in Glenstone’s collection, Chase-Riboud juxtaposes contrasting materials to create an inversion of expectations; cords of silk appear to support the heavy weight of polished bronze. The artist considers this to be “a paradoxical transfer of power from the bronze to the silk or wool.”

–Mia Matthias, from the Glenstone Field Guide