Maya Lin

One of the most celebrated artists working in the United States, Maya Lin (b. 1959) came to prominence in 1981 with her design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Generously illustrated and beautifully designed, "Systematic Landscapes" traces her continued fascination with geologic phenomena and topography, integrating natural contours and materials into evocative landscape sculptures such as Character of a Hill Under Glass (2002) and 11 Minute Line (2004). As the book reveals, Lin's earthworks and public sculptures have always developed alongside small-scale, exploratory sculptures and monumental temporary installations, such as Avalanche (1998), through which Lin evokes the physical processes that shape the earth. This important volume also introduces three major new installation works created for the Systematic Landscapes exhibition, along with a series of related drawings and reliefs demonstrating the expanding scope of Lin's creative process.
The largest of these installations, 2 X 4 Landscape, is composed from more than 45,000 sections of lumber placed on end that from a distance takes on a pixel-like image of a hill, and close up creates a form that evokes both mound and wave, earth and water. "Systematic Landscapes" is of interest to newcomers to Maya Lin's work as well as to longtime enthusiasts of her unique artistic creations and stunning design work.