Claire Falkenstein

American
(1908–1998)

Untitled
1970

Metal and glass
4.875 x 10.5 x 5.75 in.
Gift of Rachael Dunaven Yocom and Gertrude Shurr
1990.20

While living in Paris, Falkenstein was inspired by the abstract work of the post-war avant-garde artists and scientists. She was particularly influenced by the work of Einstein, and would use her sculptures as a way to explore his concept of infinite space. Due to financial constraints while living in Paris, Falkenstein began experimenting with nontraditional materials, primarily those found at a hardware store. This experimental nature would define Falkenstein’s work for the rest of her career. Upon her return to Los Angeles in 1963, Falkenstein began taking many high-profile commissions for public art sculptures, murals, and fountains.

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This object has the following keywords:

• abstraction
• glass - An amorphous, inorganic substance made by fusing silica (silicon dioxide) with a basic oxide; generally transparent but often translucent or opaque. Its characteristic properties are its hardness and rigidity at ordinary temperatures, its capacity for plastic working at elevated temperatures, and its resistance to weathering and to most chemicals except hydrofluoric acid. Used for both utilitarian and decorative purposes, it can be formed into various shapes, colored or decorated. Glass originated as a glaze in Mesopotamia in about 3500 BCE and the first objects made wholly of glass date to about 2500 BCE.

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

• Alternate Realities , 9/1/1999 - 1/15/2000
• Women, Surrealism, and Abstraction , 8/25/2020 - 7/9/2022

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