Aase Texmon Rygh
Aase Texmon Rygh (1925 to 2019) was a Norwegian sculptor with an important place in post-war abstract sculpture. Originally from Troms, she studied at the Norwegian National College of Art and Design from 1944 to 1946 and with Einar Utzon-Frank in Copenhagen from 1948 to 1949.
From the human figure to independent form
At the 1950 Autumn Exhibition she showed a female statuette carved in Oregon pine in 1949. Bodily volumes and the wood's growth rings contributed to its unity. Her 1952 solo exhibition and Spiral II marked a further move towards abstraction: rhythm and spatial movement mattered without requiring a recognisable figure.
Materials also trace this development. The National Museum's Stor teakpike, dated 1952 to 1954, is carved teak, measuring 100 × 25.4 × 17 cm. Stabile II, from 1971 to 1972, is welded and painted steel, 47 × 51.5 × 57 cm. These involve different working methods, beyond transferring a form into another material.
Möbius and sculpture as a continuous surface
The Möbius works begin with a strip given a half-turn before its ends are joined. Texmon Rygh developed five main variants: round, standing, reclining, double and triple. The National Museum's Evighetens form exhibition brought together all five in diabase. They explore different relationships between mass, opening and movement within one principle.
The museum's Møbius (stående) is dated 2008 and catalogued as cast, patinated bronze. Ekebergparken's Möbius trippel is carved diabase. The park distinguishes its dating, 1998, from its unveiling in 2013. This matters: installation does not necessarily date the development of a form.
Ekebergparken describes modelling the Möbius forms in clay or plaster before final versions in bronze, wood or stone. A model and a finished sculpture can therefore belong to the same development while differing in material and function. Kunstnernes Hus exhibited Møbius dobbel in 2019 with the dating 1990/2017. Without further documentation, a double date should be retained without guessing which year denotes a model, execution or particular casting.
Documenting an individual sculpture
Record title, material, dimensions and base together. A silhouette photograph is insufficient when a form exists in different sizes and materials. For bronze, examine the signature, any foundry mark, numbering and documented casting date. A model's date does not automatically establish the age of an individual example. This account establishes no overall edition size for the Möbius series.
For wood and stone, record cracks, chips, worked surfaces and previous repairs; for painted steel, also examine the surface, corrosion and paint layers. Document ownership history, receipts and old exhibition labels. A similar signature or a recognisable Möbius form alone does not establish artist, execution or authorisation.
Read more about modernism, artist signatures, provenance and ownership history.
Browse related items in our online shop.
Contact OBA about selling and assessment (Norwegian page).
