The theme of this sculpture is uncomplicated and heartfelt. It is a physical representation of a universally familiar memory of childhood: the innocent pleasure of climbing a tree in solitude. The design of the sculpture relies on the organic geometries of the Fibonnacci sequence and Golden Ratio.
Designed and built specifically for the Rotunda in the Museum of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Natural Progression is meant to complement the architecture. The iconoclastic architect Frank Furness designed elaborate decorations throughout the building, including a grand stairway. The architecture was meant to elevate a viewer from their place in everyday life to a higher place of Art.
Natural Progression was intended as a continuation of the staircase up through the ceiling of the museum. Along the way it transforms into a decorative flower and is completely aestheticised and looses its function as a staircase.
Natural Progression was a departure from the traditional sculptural media of stone, plaster, clay and bronze. The combining of copper and fabric allowed for a lightweight, suspended sculpture that is translucent, nostalgic, and somewhat dreamy.
It was featured at the 2005 Philadelphia Flower Show before being acquired for permanent display at Radnor Court.