Pioneering Japanese American artist Ruth Asawa (1926-2013) is perhaps best known for her intricate abstract wire sculptures. Inspired by nature, Asawa transformed industrial material into transparent and seemingly weightless works of art that challenged traditional definitions of sculpture.

She began making her wire sculptures in 1947 while a student at legendary Black Mountain College. Working with whatever wire was available, she made long series of e-shaped loops, similar to knitting loops. The process was painstaking and slow. She soon discovered that in addition to single-layered sculptures, she could also create continuous or intersecting surfaces. Sensual and organic, these multilayered yet still transparent works created a dynamic interplay between interior and exterior surfaces. Inspired by plants, snail shells, spiderwebs, insect wings and water droplets, Asawa’s sculptures, when shown together, can evoke an undersea domain, a magical upside-down world or an environment all their own.

In addition to her wire sculptures, Asawa is also acclaimed for her large public projects, which include several fountains in San Francisco; the Japanese American Internment Memorial in San Jose, CA; and San Francisco State University’s Garden of Remembrance, which commemorates Japanese Americans interned during World War II.

Tirelessly committed to arts education throughout her career, Asawa was instrumental in establishing the first public arts high school on the West Coast, now called the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. She served as a member of the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council, and she advised on the importance of art as a member of President Jimmy Carter’s Commission on Mental Health.

Since her death in 2013, public and critical appraisal of her work has continued to reach wider audiences, with much lauded exhibitions and publications organized by major museums and galleries across the country.