Jean Arp retrospective at Terme di Diocleziano in Rome

A major retrospective of Jean Arp (1887–1966), the French sculptor, painter, and poet, is on view at the Terme di Diocleziano in Rome until January 15, 2017. Curated by Alberto Fiz, the exhibition spans Arp's entire career, from his Alsatian roots to his travels between Paris, Berlin, and Zurich, featuring paintings, tapestries, sculptures, and graphic works. Arp, a founder of Dadaism in 1916 and later associated with Surrealism and Constructivism, is celebrated for his anti-academic, organic style that anticipated Informel. The venue's ancient Roman baths were chosen to echo Arp's engagement with classical forms, as seen in works like 'Torse des Pyrénées' (1959) and the monumental bronze 'Berger des Nuages' (1953), which greets visitors outside. The latter, over three meters tall, comes from the Fondation Arp in Clamart, where Arp moved in 1929 with his first wife, Sophie Taeuber. The final section is dedicated to Taeuber, an artist-craftswoman who worked in design and sculpture; her graphic works on paper and constructivist puppets (copies of 1918 originals) highlight her modernist, abstract-geometric language. Critic Calogero Pirrera notes that the exhibition design by Francesco Venezia, while meticulous, creates non-neutral backgrounds that hinder the appreciation of Arp's organic sculptures.