Bowl
1988
20th century
6 3/4 in. x 23 in. x 23 in. (17.15 cm x 58.42 cm x 58.42 cm)
Ron Kent,
American,
b. 1931
Object Type:
Sculpture and Installations
Creation Place:
North America, United States
Medium and Support:
Norfolk pine
Credit Line:
Carleton College Art Collection, gift of David and Ruth Waterbury, class of 1957
Accession Number:
1998.141
Ron Kent’s radiant turned wood vessel is a gift from Ruth and David Waterbury, passionate collectors of beautiful wooden objects. Kent, a self-taught artist who resides in Hawaii, works almost exclusively with the Norfolk Island pine. This elegant bowl features the star pattern in the bottom formed by the knots of the evenly spaced branches of this species. Once the final vessel comes off the lathe, the artist coats the thin wooden surface with forty to sixty applications of oil, sanding surfaces between each application. This process has alchemical overtones – the artist transforms raw natural materials into objects inhabited by penetrating golden light.