Rain Forest Column XXIII, 1964–67
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Nevelson assembled the towering vertical forms of Rain Forest Columns—which resemble skyscrapers as much as trees—from wooden urban detritus. She reveled in the chaotic ecosystem of New York and its continual transformation. “My total conscious search in life has been for a new seeing, a new image, a new insight,” Nevelson stated. “This search not only includes the object, but the in-between place. The dawns and the dusks.” In between nature and the “concrete jungles” of city architecture, the Rain Forest Columns embody Nevelson’s penchant for duality.
Rain Forest Column XXIII, 1964–67
Louise Nevelson, Rain Forest Column XXIII, 1964–67. Painted wood and steel, 81 3/8 × 11 1/4 × 10 3/4 in. (206.7 × 28.6 × 27.3 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of the artist 69.218. © 2025 Estate of Louise Nevelson/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York