About This Stamp
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. A tireless advocate of community-based arts education, she is also acclaimed for her drawings, paintings, prints, and large public projects.
Showcasing Asawa’s wire sculptures, this pane features 20 stamps, two each of 10 designs:
- Installation view, three looped wire sculptures (left to right): Untitled (S.114, Hanging Six-Lobed Continuous Form within a Form with One Suspended and Two Tied Spheres), ca 1958; Untitled (S.077, Hanging Miniature Seven-Lobed Continuous Form within a Form), ca 1978; and Untitled (S.036, Hanging Seven-Lobed, Multilayered Interlocking Continuous Form within a Form, with Spheres in the First, Sixth, and Seventh Lobes), 1959
- Untitled (S.039, Hanging Five Spiraling Columns of Open Windows), 1959
- Untitled (S.157, Hanging Two-Lobed, Three-Layered Continuous Form within a Form), ca 1958
- Untitled (S.250, Hanging Seven-Lobed Continuous Interlocking Form with Four Interior Spheres), ca 1955
- Untitled (S.055, Hanging Asymmetrical Nine Interlocking Bubbles), ca 1955
- Untitled (S.018, Hanging Miniature Single-Lobed, Three-Layered Continuous Form within a Form), ca 1980
- Untitled (S.306, Hanging Miniature Five Interlocking Double Trumpets), ca 1978
- Untitled (S.030, Hanging Eight Separate Cones Suspended through Their Centers), ca 1952
- Untitled (S.042, Hanging Three-Lobed Continuous Form, with a Sphere in the Second Lobe, and an Open Sphere Suspended from the Bottom), 1954
- Installation view, six looped wire sculptures (left to right): Untitled (S.227, Hanging Five-Lobed Continuous Form with Spheres Suspended in the Second, Fourth and Fifth Lobes), ca 1962; Untitled (S.154, Hanging Nine-Lobed, Single-Layered Continuous Form), ca 1958; Untitled (S.142, Hanging Five-Lobed, Multilayered Continuous Form within a Form), 1990; Untitled (S.155, Hanging Seven-Lobed, Multilayered Interlocking Continuous Form with a Sphere Suspended in the Top and Fifth Lobes), ca 1958; Untitled (S.065, Hanging Seven-Lobed, Multilayered Continuous Form within a Form with Spheres in the Second, Third, Fourth, and Sixth Lobes), ca 1960–1963; and Untitled (S.143, Hanging Five-Lobed, Multilayered Continuous Form within a Form), 1996
Inspired by natural elements such as 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. She began making them in 1947 and 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.
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; and San Francisco State University's Garden of Remembrance, which commemorates Japanese Americans interned during World War II.
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.
Ethel Kessler served as art director and designer for this stamp pane.
The Ruth Asawa stamps are issued as Forever® stamps. These Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
© Estate of Ruth Asawa
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Ethel Kessler
Ethel Kessler is an award-winning designer and art director who has worked with corporations, museums, public and private institutions, professional service organizations, and now, the United States Postal Service.
After earning a B.F.A. in visual communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Kessler worked as a graphic designer and project manager for the exhibits division of the United States Information Agency. Her work was distributed internationally on subjects such as Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Renovation of American Cities, and the Bicentennial of 1976. She was also responsible for exhibits in Morocco, Botswana, and El Salvador.
In 1981, she established Kessler Design, Inc., for which she is creative director and designer. Clients have included the Clinton Government reorganization, the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Television, the National Park Service, and the American Institute of Architects.
She has been an art director for the U.S. Postal Service’s stamp development program for more than 25 years. As an art director for USPS, Kessler has been responsible for creating more than 500 stamp designs, including the Breast Cancer Research stamp illustrated by Whitney Sherman. Issued in 1998, the stamp is still on sale and has raised more $98 million for breast cancer research. Other Kessler projects include the popular and highly regarded Nature of America 120 stamp series, a collaboration with nationally acclaimed nature illustrator John Dawson, the 12-year Lunar New Year series with Kam Mak, the American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes 10 stamps issued in 2003, a 2016 pane of stamps celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and the 2023 stamp honoring Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And many, many others.