Sphere Within Sphere (Sfera con sfera) describes a series of spherical bronze sculptures by Italian sculptorArnaldo Pomodoro. In 1966, Pomodoro was commissioned to create a 3.5-meter sphere forExpo 67 in Montreal. The success of this sculpture propelled Pomodoro's works into the mainstream, allowing for commissions that would land his sculptures at theHeadquarters of the United Nations and theVatican Museums.
Over his career, Pomodoro created 45 of these popular sculptures, aptly namedRotante, Sphera, orSphera con sphera. The spheres range in size from as small as half a meter up to 4 meters in diameter. They are meant to represent the 'ideal city,' with contrasting imagery of organic and human shapes combined with technological and gear-like components. The spheres can be seen as a promising rebirth of a less troubled and destructive world. Pomodoro described his desire for building these sculptures, stating, "breaking these perfect, magic forms in order to reveal their internal ferment, mysterious and alive, monstrous and yet pure; I [want to] create a discordant tension, a conflict, with the polished shine: a unity composed of incompleteness."[1]
Versions of the sculpture can be found around the world, including:.[2]
