Polar Bear Bench

Artist Judy Kensley McKie (American, born 1944)

Date2000

DimensionsH: 18 1/4 in. (46.3 cm); W: 71 3/4 in. (182.2 cm); Depth: 19 3/4 in. (50.2 cm)

MediumCarved marble.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of the Toledo Museum of Art Ambassadors (formerly the Toledo Museum of Art Aides)

Object number

2001.25

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Sculpture Garden

Label TextJudy McKie wants there to be no mistake: What she makes is not only art, but furniture to be lived with and used. So please feel free to take a seat! McKie has said, “I want to make art that people love.” She helps to achieve this goal through her use of distinctive animal motifs and her sense of whimsy. She possesses a remarkable ability to capture the essence of the animal she is representing through her sensitive selection of materials. For example, she carved Polar Bear Bench from a block of white marble with crystal flecks that suggest the cold, snowy Arctic where the bear lives.Published ReferencesJudy Kensley McKie: Cast of Characters, San Francisco, Museum of Craft and Design, 2018, repr. (col.).Exhibition HistorySan Francisco, Museum of Craft and Design, Judy Kensley McKie: Cast of Characters, June 2-October 18, 2018.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Boyd, Virginia T., Contemporary Studio Case Furniture: the Inside Story, Madison, WI, Elvehjem Museum of Art, 2002, fig. 2, p. 14.