- . Digg It
- . Sphere It
- . E-mail This
- . Save to del.icio.us
- . Permanent Link
Figuratively Speaking
Sculpture exhibition gives a shout-out to the ladies
The new show Modern American Sculpture, which launches today at Forum Gallery in Los Angeles and runs through February 9, could just as easily have been titled Modern American Sculptures of Women. With only a few exceptions, the mostly figurative collection (Forum's forté) celebrates the visage of the female form in a profusion of literal and abstract objets d'art.
Among the 15 sculptors included in the show are Ukranian-born cubist/avant gardist Alexander Archipenko, whose compact, bronze "Woman with Cat" reveals a smooth, lovely breast resting over the figure's arm as it pets a nuzzling feline, and Polish sculptor Eli Nadelman, whose sumptuous and expressive papier mache and terracotta pieces pair up female figures who lounge luxuriously (as in the glorious glazed terracotta "Two Women — One Seated") or groom joyfully ("Woman Dressing Another Woman's Hair").
Chaim Gross and abstract sculptors Charles Biederman (who coined the term "structurist" art) and Sidney Gordin also appear in the show, which, ironically, seems to be comprised entirely of works by men. But for all the nifty stuff that's here (including a special installation of structurist reliefs), it's the figurative work of Hugo Robus that I find most compelling.
Unfortunately, his entrancing "Seated Woman with Memories" is not currently represented in the gallery's online catalog (though it is in the show) — but, like all of the work by the Cleveland-born sculptor (who died in 1964), the simple plaster rendering of a woman crouching in mid-air, grasping what appears to be a flower, is endowed with palpable human sympathy and a masterful anatomical understanding. While the form would seem somewhat amorphous under harsh inspection, the subtleties of dimpled knees and the folds of flesh over the armpits become evident under the shadows of subdued gallery lighting. There are seven pieces by Robus in this show, and the ones that appear on the gallery's website are simply stunning.
Drop by for a little online tour of the exhibition and, if you find yourself in Los Angeles over the next month, be sure to check out the show in all its gallery-illuminated splendor.
Wendy Case is the MOLI View's contributing editor for Arts & Entertainment.
Among the 15 sculptors included in the show are Ukranian-born cubist/avant gardist Alexander Archipenko, whose compact, bronze "Woman with Cat" reveals a smooth, lovely breast resting over the figure's arm as it pets a nuzzling feline, and Polish sculptor Eli Nadelman, whose sumptuous and expressive papier mache and terracotta pieces pair up female figures who lounge luxuriously (as in the glorious glazed terracotta "Two Women — One Seated") or groom joyfully ("Woman Dressing Another Woman's Hair").
Chaim Gross and abstract sculptors Charles Biederman (who coined the term "structurist" art) and Sidney Gordin also appear in the show, which, ironically, seems to be comprised entirely of works by men. But for all the nifty stuff that's here (including a special installation of structurist reliefs), it's the figurative work of Hugo Robus that I find most compelling.
Unfortunately, his entrancing "Seated Woman with Memories" is not currently represented in the gallery's online catalog (though it is in the show) — but, like all of the work by the Cleveland-born sculptor (who died in 1964), the simple plaster rendering of a woman crouching in mid-air, grasping what appears to be a flower, is endowed with palpable human sympathy and a masterful anatomical understanding. While the form would seem somewhat amorphous under harsh inspection, the subtleties of dimpled knees and the folds of flesh over the armpits become evident under the shadows of subdued gallery lighting. There are seven pieces by Robus in this show, and the ones that appear on the gallery's website are simply stunning.
Drop by for a little online tour of the exhibition and, if you find yourself in Los Angeles over the next month, be sure to check out the show in all its gallery-illuminated splendor.
Wendy Case is the MOLI View's contributing editor for Arts & Entertainment.
What People Are Saying…
Leave a Comment