AFA Summer 2019

Antiques & Fine Art 91 2019 Fig. 5: Traverser, Gyöngy Laky (b. 1944), 2016. Branches, commercial wood, screws, acrylic paint. Fabrication. H. 24, W. 24, D 24 in. Lent by the artist (RRR.48). The latest in a series of works produced since the 1970s, Laky’s sculpture serves as a reflection on the history of basketry. She fabricated the vessel by sanding, painting, and drilling pieces of reclaimed wood and joining them with screws. The result is a “ghost” basket; its form evokes the utility of traditional baskets but its negative spaces deny functionality. The basket transcends time, marrying natural and industrial materials and the past with the contemporary world.