[The exhibition] does bring up very poignant issues. Even the title Nature, Sweet Nature [speaks to] our relationship to nature, and how it is tenuous, how it has been changing and is continuing to change, and the fragility of the whole thing. - Maren Hassinger

Maren Hassinger has created two site-specific wire and concrete works for the Aspen Art Museum's Roof Deck Sculpture Garden— these new installations, Paradise Regained and Garden, mimic the natural landscape using industrial  materials common to Hassinger's practice: wire-rope and concrete. Garden features 43 wire-rope sculptures that burst forth from the rooftop's planters, acting as an unwieldy vine among the existing flora and fauna.  Paradise Regained sits freestanding in the center of the courtyard, orderly rows of wrought wire "swaying" in the wind like a field of grass. In dialogue with Aspen's majestic setting, Hassinger asks viewers to take a moment to reflect on the beauty of their surroundings and to consider the role that nature plays in their lives.

I gravitated towards wire rope because it reminds me of nature. The spirals are like rivers and streams, the open ends, like twigs and branches. And because wire rope is manufactured and not natural at all, it sets up a wonderful poetic comparison. I'm hoping that the beauty of these wire rope elements will remind us of the beauty, fragility, and tenderness of our own nature, sweet nature.  -Maren Hassinger