MID-SIZED SCULPTURES
COMMISSIONED WORKS...
Jacobian Parallels
1979
Anna Meredith, Des Moines, commissioned this work for her son Ted Meredith’s home after seeing its smaller prototype at Wyrick’s show at the Bonnie Percival Gallery, Des Moines. The surprise at the time of installation in 1979 was that, although this was an outdoor sculpture, Ted’s living room was a show place for his collection of horned animal heads of specimens he gathered on African safaris.
Wyrick’s actual intention for the sculpture had been to present two somewhat precarious holders for the stainless steel “ladders” and to suggest the difficulty of climbing such a “ladder.”
Prairie Signs
1980 and on
Prairie Signs (non commissioned) an earth-bonded sculpture, was created without having been commissioned to do so. When standing above ground it looked gangly and unappealing and it was never sold.
Wyrick decided to keep the sculpture and sited it in her own yard. Once it was “planted,” it fulfilled its promise.
Each of Prairie Signs' four forms is constructed using cast iron at top attached to welded CorTen steel “legs.”
Under Blue Skies
1995
Commissioned by the O’Briens for the Bill and Dorothy O’Brien Sun Room in the Ronald McDonald House. The House serves as a home for families of long-term patients hospitalized at the nearby University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics.
This is a 7’ h x 16.5’ w sculptural relief of brushed aluminum with urethane paint. Wyrick consulted with a car body shop in its development. She laid out the design and had them paint the work.
A notable and unexpected addition to the sculpture was the reflection from the semicircular window opposite the sculpture, giving the impression of sunrise or moonrise.
Included with Under Blue Skies were panels to list donors’ names to the House.
Signs of the Quiet Sun 1
1982
This sculpture was commissioned by James and Lee Wockenfuss for their Iowa City home in 1982. The sculpture traveled with them when James left his post as Director of Hancher Auditorium to their later homes in California and Arizona.
The two main elements, leaning against each other, suggest interdependence. The relief work on the concave interior held significant imagery of ladders, constellations and woods that spoke to this couple’s interests in the natural world (along with the artist’s interest).
Bio Pathways
1997
Bio Pathways was commissioned by Kemin Industries, Des Moines, in 1997. It challenged Wyrick to study the scientific basis of the corporation’s operations and products. Kemin sent the first of the cast sculptures to its new office in Belgium.
Bio Pathways is a work expressing our most current thinking about molecular structures underlying all of life. The base is the shape of the familiar six-sided carbon molecule, overlaid with egg yolks, signifying life’s beginnings, yet integrally tied to Kemin Industries’ .
The lone marigold, with its global center, flowers from its stem of DNA. The expanding bio pathways form the bowl of the chalice form. The stems also connect the marigold to eggs, a literal allusion to a central part of Kemin’s marketing plan. (The company sends marigold additives to chicken feed companies so they can alter the color of the yolks for different markets around the world. For instance, European markets like orange yolks versus the yellow
yolks preferred by United States markets!)
The branches forming the bowl of the form connect with one another in allusion to the bio pathways now known that form the building blocks of life. They also center on particular schematic representations especially those of the lipoids, contained in a marvelous chart of the bio pathways.
From humankind’s earliest time, people have connected the “labyrinth” and spiral forms with life–both the unknown and the little known. The snail shell, with its spiral form, giving us earliest clues to life, is included and is the prototype for the spiraling interactions and permutations taking place in all life cycles.
Animals, forming primitive motifs around the edge of the bowl, represent just a few of those that are central to sustenance of life and also to Kemin Industries as well. The rake angle of the top edge of the bowl indicates ongoing action.
Fortune's Wheels
1998
Commissioned in 1998 by Stan and Gail Richards, Des Moines, IA and Rancho Mirage CA, where this sculpture has resided for most of its life.
One “clock face” is directional, covered with arrows of potentiality and allusion to life’s choices. The other “clock face” displays symbols that, although not decipherable, are designed to indicate a form of language. Both “clock faces” are supported by a base, primarily of ladders.
