The Sphere within a Sphere is a statue also known as "Sfera con Sfera". The Sphere within a sphere is located in the Vatican Museums. It is part of a series of bronze sculptures on this theme that can be found in prime locations all over the world such as: the Headquarters of the UN in New York; The Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, USA; Trinity College in Dublin; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C; the de Young Museum in San Francisco, USA ;The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art; the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus and the Tel Aviv University in Israel.
Arnaldo Pomodoro is an Italian sculptor. He was born in the 23rd of June 1926 in Morciano, Romagna, Italy. Currently he lives and works in Milan. His brother, Giò Pomodoro was also an Artist.
The "Sphere within a Sphere" Statue depicts a huge fractured orb. Inside the cracked orb you can see another one. Each tremendous sphere is broken, showing yet another cracking sphere. The design of the internal layers seems to imitate the gears or cogwheels of a complex machine such as a clock. It symbolizes the fragility and complexity of the world.This fascinating statue is located in the courtyard of the Pine cone outside the Vatican Museum. Pomodoro started to create these orbs in the early 1960s.
Pomodoro is also known for designing a controversial fiberglass crucifix for the Cathedral of St. John in Copenhagen. In addition he sculpted pieces for the Amaliehaven park which was displayed on the waterfront in front of Amalienborg Palace in 1983. His piece "Forme del Mito" was displayed at Brisbane's World Expo '88 and was later bought by Brisbane City.
In 1999 he founded Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro in Milan as a centre to whose aim is to document and archive Pomodoro's work . The foundation opened an exhibition space in 2005, and it now displays exhibitions of renowned artists such as Jannis Kounellis, Lucio Fontana and Robert Rauschenberg. Flaminio Gualdoni is the current director of Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro. The Court of the Pigna constitutes the northern end of the great renaissance Belvedere Courtyard that extended from the Papal Palaces to Innocent VII's "palazzetto" and was subsequently divided into three parts with the construction of Sixtus V's Library and the Braccio Nuovo of Pius VII. The present courtyard which takes its name form the enormous bronze pine cone set into the "nicchone", is bounded on the south side by the Braccio Nuovo, on the east by the Chiaromonti Gallery, on the north by Innocent VIII's Palazzetto and on the west by the galleries of the Apostolic Library.