The artists in NMWA's “Built to Order” gallery investigate human intervention in the natural world, considering the impact of structures, cities, and societies.
![Eery photograph in blue tones of a concrete silo at night.](https://nmwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2007.65-aspect-ratio-2.25x1.png)
Several of the artists featured in NMWA’s collection galleries create works that seem to be at odds with their materials. In creating a paradox between subject and material, these artists...
![Large, abstract sculpture, fabricated of rusted iron wires, conveys an organic form. At center is a mass of thin, tangled wires shaped into a thick disc, sitting on edge. From either side of the center disc a mass of slightly bent, thicker wires juts straight out.](https://nmwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/1994.3_386-aspect-ratio-2.25-1-1-700x330.jpg)
Learn more about Ruth Asawa's hanging sculpture, Untitled (S.407) (ca. 1952), which is on view in the NMWA exhibition Pathmakers through February 28, 2016.
![A black-and-white photograph of Ruth Asawa holding one of her large, wire crochet sculptures, draped over her shoulder and in both hands. She is a light-skinned, Asian, adult woman with black hair and blunt bangs.](https://nmwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3-Asawa-Ruth_HoldingSculpture-1-aspect-ratio-2.25-1.png)
A chorus of birds hails the first day of spring, prompting a look at avian imagery in NMWA’s collection.
![Rendered in loose, impressionistic brushstrokes in muted pastel tones, the still life painting depicts a brass birdcage with two small birds cuddled next to each other on a perch. The cage sits adjacent to and partially obscures a bowl of lush red, yellow, and white flowers.](https://nmwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1986.223-GAP-aspect-ratio-2.25-1-700x330.jpg)