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Meg Webster

Biography

Meg Webster (b. 1944, San Francisco, CA) has long been guided by an environmentalist impulse to celebrate and preserve the natural world. She produces both indoor sculptures made of salt, earth, sand, and other natural materials, and outdoor installations designed to enhance the community’s appreciation for and understanding of the earth’s ecosystem. Webster received her MFA from Yale University in 1983, and had a one-person exhibition at Donald Judd’s exhibition space on Spring Street, New York, the same year. Subsequent one-person exhibitions have been held at The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh (1984); the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (1991); The Brooklyn Museum, New York (1992); P.S. 1 Contemporary Arts Center, New York (1998); MoMA P.S. 1 (2013); LMCC Art Center at Governor’s Island, New York (2021) and Judd Foundation, New York (2022). In 2016 she presented her large-scale earthwork, Concave Room for Bees, at Socrates Sculpture Park, commissioned for their exhibition “LANDMARK,” and in 2017 she participated in the two-person exhibition, Natura Naturans at Villa Panza in Varese, Italy. In 2024 she will have a one-person exhibition at Dia Art Foundation, Beacon, NY. Webster lives and works in New York.

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Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails

Installation view, Meg Webster: Site-Specific Work, Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Maine, July 28 - November 12. Courtesy of the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit, ME. Photo: Annabelle Collette

Installation view, Meg Webster: Site-Specific Work, Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Maine, July 28 - November 12. Courtesy of the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit, ME. Photo: Annabelle Collette

Meg Webster, Glen, 1987, earth, vegetation, steel mesh

Meg Webster
Glen, 1987/2022
earth, vegetation, steel mesh
dimensions variable, as installed: 13' 5" (409 cm) inside diameter
Installation view: "Artgenève", Geneva, Switzerland, 2022

Meg Webster, Copper Containing Salt II, 2017, copper, acrylic, silicone, salt

Meg Webster
Copper Containing Salt II, 2017
copper, acrylic, silicone, salt
height: 42 in. (106.7 cm)
diameter: 28 in. (71.1 cm)
copper plate: 1/4 in. (.6 cm)
Edition 1 of 3, + 1AP

Meg Webster, Long Gates, 1984/2022, rammed earth

Meg Webster
Long Gates, 1984/2022
rammed earth
52 x 78 x 78 in. (132.1 x 198.1 x 198.1 cm)

Meg Webster, Soft Broch, 1984/2022, hay 12 x 12 x 12 ft (365.8 x 365.8 x 365.8 cm)

Meg Webster
Soft Broch, 1984/2022
hay
12 x 12 x 12 ft (365.8 x 365.8 x 365.8 cm)

Meg Webster Concave Room for Bees, 2016 a site-specific installation 70 feet in diameter created from over 300 cubic yards of soil forming an earthen bowl 5 feet high planted with flowers, herbs and shrubs that attract pollinating creatures, Socrates Sculpture Park, New York, 2016.

Meg Webster
Concave Room for Bees, 2016
a site-specific installation 70 feet in diameter created from over 300 cubic yards of soil forming an earthen bowl 5 feet high planted with flowers, herbs and shrubs that attract pollinating creatures, Socrates Sculpture Park, New York, 2016.

Meg Webster Copper Disk for Facing Hands, 2012 copper 1 x 7 1/2 in. diameter (2.5 x 19.1 cm diameter) Edition of 6, 2 AP

Meg Webster
Copper Disk for Facing Hands, 2012
copper
1 x 7 1/2 in. diameter (2.5 x 19.1 cm diameter)
Edition of 6, 2 AP

Meg Webster Solar Grow Room, 2016 Installation view, "The Garden - End of Times, Beginning of Times," ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark, April 8 - October 22, 2017

Meg Webster
Solar Grow Room, 2016
Installation view: "The Garden - End of Times, Beginning of Times," ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark, April 8 - October 22, 2017

Meg Webster Natura Naturans Villa e Collezione Panza, Varese, Italy, 2015-2016

Meg Webster
Natura Naturans
Villa e Collezione Panza, Varese, Italy, 2015-2016

Meg Webster Cocoa, 2013 cocoa on Arches paper 16 x 16 in. (40.6 x 40.6 cm)

Meg Webster
Cocoa, 2013
cocoa on Arches paper
16 x 16 in. (40.6 x 40.6 cm)

Meg Webster Meg Webster, Installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 W 21st Street, New York, NY, May 7 - June 24, 2016

Meg Webster
Meg Webster, Installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 W 21st Street, New York, NY, May 7 - June 24, 2016

Meg Webster Glass Spiral, 1990 standing glass plates, water, plants, soil dimensions variable Installation view: Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI, 1990

Meg Webster
Glass Spiral, 1990
standing glass plates, water, plants, soil
dimensions variable
Installation view: "Milwaukee Art Museum", Milwaukee, WI, 1990

Meg Webster Sand Bed, 1982/2012 sand 84 x 60 x 6 in. (213.4 x 152.4 x 15.2 cm)

Meg Webster
Sand Bed, 1982/2012
sand
84 x 60 x 6 in. (213.4 x 152.4 x 15.2 cm)

Meg Webster Largest Blown Sphere, 1987 five glass spheres each: 36 x 36 x 36 in. (91.4 x 91.4 x 91.4 cm) Installation view: "Blue Sky," Morris-Healy Gallery, New York, NY, June 2 – June 21, 1997

Meg Webster
Largest Blown Sphere, 1987
five glass spheres
each: 36 x 36 x 36 in. (91.4 x 91.4 x 91.4 cm)
Installation view: "Blue Sky," Morris-Healy Gallery, New York, NY, June 2 – June 21, 1997

Meg Webster Polished Stainless Steel for Reflecting Outstretched Arms, 2012 mirror-polished stainless steel, 72 x 53 in. (182.9 x 134.6 cm)

Meg Webster
Polished Stainless Steel for Reflecting Outstretched Arms, 2012
mirror-polished stainless steel, 72 x 53 in. (182.9 x 134.6 cm)

Installation view, Meg Webster: Site-Specific Work, Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Maine, July 28 - November 12. Courtesy of the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit, ME. Photo: Annabelle Collette

Installation view, Meg Webster: Site-Specific Work, Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Maine, July 28 - November 12. Courtesy of the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit, ME. Photo: Annabelle Collette

Meg Webster, Glen, 1987, earth, vegetation, steel mesh

Meg Webster
Glen, 1987/2022
earth, vegetation, steel mesh
dimensions variable, as installed: 13' 5" (409 cm) inside diameter
Installation view: "Artgenève", Geneva, Switzerland, 2022

Meg Webster, Copper Containing Salt II, 2017, copper, acrylic, silicone, salt

Meg Webster
Copper Containing Salt II, 2017
copper, acrylic, silicone, salt
height: 42 in. (106.7 cm)
diameter: 28 in. (71.1 cm)
copper plate: 1/4 in. (.6 cm)
Edition 1 of 3, + 1AP

Meg Webster, Long Gates, 1984/2022, rammed earth

Meg Webster
Long Gates, 1984/2022
rammed earth
52 x 78 x 78 in. (132.1 x 198.1 x 198.1 cm)

Meg Webster, Soft Broch, 1984/2022, hay 12 x 12 x 12 ft (365.8 x 365.8 x 365.8 cm)

Meg Webster
Soft Broch, 1984/2022
hay
12 x 12 x 12 ft (365.8 x 365.8 x 365.8 cm)

Meg Webster Concave Room for Bees, 2016 a site-specific installation 70 feet in diameter created from over 300 cubic yards of soil forming an earthen bowl 5 feet high planted with flowers, herbs and shrubs that attract pollinating creatures, Socrates Sculpture Park, New York, 2016.

Meg Webster
Concave Room for Bees, 2016
a site-specific installation 70 feet in diameter created from over 300 cubic yards of soil forming an earthen bowl 5 feet high planted with flowers, herbs and shrubs that attract pollinating creatures, Socrates Sculpture Park, New York, 2016.

Meg Webster Copper Disk for Facing Hands, 2012 copper 1 x 7 1/2 in. diameter (2.5 x 19.1 cm diameter) Edition of 6, 2 AP

Meg Webster
Copper Disk for Facing Hands, 2012
copper
1 x 7 1/2 in. diameter (2.5 x 19.1 cm diameter)
Edition of 6, 2 AP

Meg Webster Solar Grow Room, 2016 Installation view, "The Garden - End of Times, Beginning of Times," ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark, April 8 - October 22, 2017

Meg Webster
Solar Grow Room, 2016
Installation view: "The Garden - End of Times, Beginning of Times," ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark, April 8 - October 22, 2017

Meg Webster Natura Naturans Villa e Collezione Panza, Varese, Italy, 2015-2016

Meg Webster
Natura Naturans
Villa e Collezione Panza, Varese, Italy, 2015-2016

Meg Webster Cocoa, 2013 cocoa on Arches paper 16 x 16 in. (40.6 x 40.6 cm)

Meg Webster
Cocoa, 2013
cocoa on Arches paper
16 x 16 in. (40.6 x 40.6 cm)

Meg Webster Meg Webster, Installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 W 21st Street, New York, NY, May 7 - June 24, 2016

Meg Webster
Meg Webster, Installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 W 21st Street, New York, NY, May 7 - June 24, 2016

Meg Webster Glass Spiral, 1990 standing glass plates, water, plants, soil dimensions variable Installation view: Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI, 1990

Meg Webster
Glass Spiral, 1990
standing glass plates, water, plants, soil
dimensions variable
Installation view: "Milwaukee Art Museum", Milwaukee, WI, 1990

Meg Webster Sand Bed, 1982/2012 sand 84 x 60 x 6 in. (213.4 x 152.4 x 15.2 cm)

Meg Webster
Sand Bed, 1982/2012
sand
84 x 60 x 6 in. (213.4 x 152.4 x 15.2 cm)

Meg Webster Largest Blown Sphere, 1987 five glass spheres each: 36 x 36 x 36 in. (91.4 x 91.4 x 91.4 cm) Installation view: "Blue Sky," Morris-Healy Gallery, New York, NY, June 2 – June 21, 1997

Meg Webster
Largest Blown Sphere, 1987
five glass spheres
each: 36 x 36 x 36 in. (91.4 x 91.4 x 91.4 cm)
Installation view: "Blue Sky," Morris-Healy Gallery, New York, NY, June 2 – June 21, 1997

Meg Webster Polished Stainless Steel for Reflecting Outstretched Arms, 2012 mirror-polished stainless steel, 72 x 53 in. (182.9 x 134.6 cm)

Meg Webster
Polished Stainless Steel for Reflecting Outstretched Arms, 2012
mirror-polished stainless steel, 72 x 53 in. (182.9 x 134.6 cm)

Video

Tuesday Talk with Meg Webster | July 25, 2023 (Ogunquit Museum of American Art)