Dalya Luttwak’s sculptures explore a hidden world – the underground life of plants. They serve as a triple metaphor: for the loss of families, like hers, uprooted from their homelands, for the unseen – and devalued – wonders of nature, and for the delicate balance between human activity and nature’s needs.
Like their real-life botanical counterparts, Dayla’s sculptured roots are irrepressible. They challenge their confines, invading space, leaping across galleries, crawling up castle walls – even spanning a Venetian canal. As these “roots” spread, they hint at the transience of the structures they reclaim. They invite us to contemplate the future: what will happen when nature asserts its power over our civilization’s cherished accomplishments?
Dalya Luttwak, The Spread of the Common Weed (2014). Painted steel. Dimensions: 113” x 108” x 8”. © 2014, Dalya Luttwak. Courtesy of the artist.
Artist’s Statement
In his Book of Questions, Pablo Neruda asks, “Why do trees conceal the splendor of their roots?”
Dalya Luttwak, (Left) Bamboo-Grass (Phyllostachys aurea). Dimensions: 127.5” x 29” x 157”. (Right) Silver Maple-Tree (Acer saccharinum). Dimensions: 54” x 58” x 9”. Both are painted steel (2009-2010). © 2010, Dalya Luttwak. Courtesy of the artist.
I was born in Israel. My parents escaped from Czechoslovakia as World War II was starting. They put down “roots” in the parched Middle East soil as new-made farmers. My family roots – now spread through three continents – nourish my constant curiosity, even when kept “hidden” and scarcely mentioned in my family.
My path, like my parents’, was inspired by intrusion: a tornado overturned a large silver maple tree in my front yard. The exposed roots evoked my family’s uprooting and inspired me.
Since 2007, I have been working on a series of large-scale metal sculptures that symbolically represent the root systems of various plants. My sculptures are site-specific or site-responsive. At times, I work from the roots themselves, which I dig out of the earth; other times, I photograph, copy, or draw roots as the basis for my work.
Dalya Luttwak, Allium Porrum (Leek – 3 stages of growth)(2008). Painted steel. Dimensions: Variable up to 60” x 67”. © 2008, Dalya Luttwak. Courtesy of the artist.
I try to uncover the hidden beauty of roots, exploring the relationship between what grows above the ground and the invisible parts below. My sculptures reveal what nature prefers to conceal. I aspire to uncover and discover roots even when they are hidden – indeed, especially when they are hidden. Roots – to each other and to the earth — anchor, structure, and nourish us.
Artist’s website: http://www.dalyaluttwak.com
