Museum Exhibition Catalogues, Monographs, Artist's Projects, Curatorial Writings and Essays
Magdalena Abakanowicz was born in Falenty, Poland, in 1931, and studied at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts from 1950 through 1954. She first gained attention in the 1960s with her Abakans, sisal and fabric hanging sculptures which she could roll up and store, partly a result of the limited studio space allotted under Communist rule. As Abakanowicz's reputation grew, so did her sculptures, and in the 1970s and 80s, she began to work in bronze, stone, wood, and iron. Among her many awards are the Award for Distinction in Sculpture from the Sculpture Center, New York, and the Visionaries! Award from the American Craft Museum. Her works are in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, and the National Gallery of Art. She lives and works in Warsaw.
Published by Skira editore. Edited by Mary Jane Jacob, Jenny Dally.
Spanning her lengthy career, this compendium of Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz’s (1930–2017) writings is the first to bring together her prose poems, her lectures, correspondence with other artists and interviews (including a previously unpublished interview with art historian Barbara Rose).
One of Poland’s most famous artists, Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930-2017) revolutionized the use of textile as a sculptural medium with the creation of her 1967 Akabans series consisting of enormous woven structures. In the next two decades of her career, the artist moved more towards representational sculpture, crafting dozens of headless humanoid figures out of wood, burlap and synthetic resin. These figures were then gathered in imposing groups as part of the Crowds series, her meditation on public spaces and how human beings occupy them. In addition to her numerous three-dimensional endeavors, which include an arboreal architecture project in Paris, Abakanowicz was a painter and a choreographer.
Published at a moment of considerable renewed focus on the artist, this autobiography narrated her groundbreaking career for the first time.
Published by Gli Ori Publishers. Essays by Abraham M. Hammacher, Giuliano Gori, Barbara Rose and Jasia Reichardt.
The sculptures of Magdalena Abakanowicz, one of the preeminent sculptors of the past half-century, offer a moving, tactile testament to both individuality and common humanity. This monograph provides an exhaustive overview of Abakanowicz's permanent installations (among other works), such as Katarsis at the Fattoria di Celle sculpture garden in Santomato di Pistoia, Italy. There, as in other of her bronzes, limbless, headless torsos stand in soldierly ranks, their surfaces rough with textures that differentiate each from the other. Mournful and mute, the artist's monumental groups are fitting, solemn representations of contemporary human alienation and political manipulation. Drawings and essays, along with artist statements and an interview, complete this necessary contextualization of an important contemporary artist.
PUBLISHER Gli Ori Publishers
BOOK FORMAT Hardcover, 9.5 x 12.75 in. / 192 pgs / 60 color / 34 bw / 30 duotone.
PUBLISHING STATUS Pub Date 8/15/2005 Out of print
DISTRIBUTION D.A.P. Exclusive Catalog: FALL 2005 p. 144
PRODUCT DETAILS ISBN 9788873360537TRADE List Price: $75.00 CAD $90.00
Magdalena Abakanowicz: Fate and Art
Magdalena Abakanowicz