Alina Szapocznikow Retrospective at Wiels, Brussels
A major retrospective of Polish artist Alina Szapocznikow (1926–1973) opened at Wiels in Brussels from September 10, 2011 to January 8, 2012. Szapocznikow, a key figure in Polish postwar art, moved to France in 1963 after surviving deportation during WWII and studying in Prague and Paris. She died of cancer in Paris. The exhibition traces her evolution from traditional sculpture to pioneering works using polyester resin body casts (e.g., Lampe-bouche, 1966) and expanding polyurethane foam. Her practice, associated with Nouveau Réalisme and Pop Art, redefined sculpture through unconventional materials. After Brussels, the show travels to the Hammer Museum (Los Angeles), Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus), and MoMA (New York). A monograph accompanies the retrospective, published by Fonds Mercator.
Key facts
- Alina Szapocznikow retrospective at Wiels, Brussels, Sept 10, 2011 – Jan 8, 2012.
- Born in Poland in 1926, Jewish, deported during WWII.
- Moved to France in 1963, died of cancer in Paris in 1973.
- Early work moved away from traditional sculpture to suspended and 'disfigured' forms.
- Used polyester resin for body fragment casts, e.g., Lampe-bouche (1966).
- Later used black polyurethane foam to encase the body.
- Associated with Nouveau Réalisme and Pop Art.
- Exhibition travels to Hammer Museum, Wexner Center, and MoMA in 2012–2013.
- Monograph published by Fonds Mercator.
- Posthumous exhibition organized by Pierre Restany at ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 1973.
Entities
Artists
- Alina Szapocznikow
- Pierre Restany
Institutions
- Wiels
- Hammer Museum
- Wexner Center for the Arts
- MoMA
- Fonds Mercator
- ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
- Galerie Loevenbruck
Locations
- Brussels
- Belgium
- Los Angeles
- United States
- Columbus
- New York
- Paris
- France
- Poland
- Prague
- Varsovie
Sources
- artpress —