Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz-Kosmowska (20 June 1930 – 20 April 2017) was a Polish sculptor and fiber artist. She is notable for her use of textiles as a sculptural medium. She is widely regarded as one of Poland's most internationally acclaimed artists. She was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland from 1965 to 1990 and a visiting professor at University of California, Los Angeles in 1984.
Magdalena Abakanowicz (Polish, 1930-2017) Dark, 1970-80 hand woven and dyed fiber signed M. Abakanowicz, titled and dated (verso) 53 x 38 inches. Property from a Private Collection, Chicago, Illinois
Magdalena Abakanowicz 1930–2017 Le désert orange, 1984 Textilstruktur aus Sisal rückseitig auf Etikette bezeichnet, datiert und signiert Magdalena Abakanowicz LE DESERT ORANGE 1984 130 x 200 cm
Catalogues presenting the work of the Polish artist Abakanowicz (1930-2017) and Croatian artist Buic (1930-2022), who both used textiles as a sculptural medium. Published to accompany solo exhibitions at the Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen in Dusseldorf. With glossy b/w photos and reproductions of artworks, text in German. (1) Magdalena Abakanowicz. Textile Strukturen und Konstruktionen, Environments, 1972. Softcover, 26 x 19 cm, approx. 82 pp. (2) Jagoda Buic. Gewebte Formen 1968-1977, 1977. Softcover, 26 x 19 cm, approx. 110 pp. Both fine copies. (total 2)
Magdalena Abakanowicz 1930–2017 Papillon, 1974 Textilstruktur aus Sisal rückseitig auf Etikette bezeichnet, datiert und signiert MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ PAPILLON 1974 M. Abakanowicz 258,5 x 163 cm
Magdalena Abakanowicz Fists 1992 bronze 3 h x 6.125 w x 3.25 d in (8 x 16 x 8 cm) Cast initials, number and date to underside 'MA E.A. 92'. This work is an artist's proof apart from the edition of 8 commissioned by the Societe des Amis du Musee National d'Art Moderne, Paris Provenance: Marlborough Gallery Inc., New York | Christie's, New York, First Open Post-War and Contemporary Art, 23 September 2009, Lot 139 | Private Collection, Chicago This work will ship from Lambertville, New Jersey.
Property from an Important Private Collection Sold to Benefit a Charitable Foundation Magdalena Abakanowicz 1930 - 2017 Dancing Figures burlap, resin and steel, in 6 parts height of each: 59 in. (150 cm.) installation dimensions variable Executed in 2000.
MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ (POLISH 1930-2017) Untitled, 1977 burlap on panel 90 x 60 cm (35 3/8 x 23 5/8 in.) PROVENANCE Acquired directly from the artist by the grandparents of the current owner
The Sanford & Late Jeanne Robertson Collection Magdalena Abakanowicz 1930 - 2017 Piccolina stamped with the artist's monogram, signature, title and date 1993 (on the base), signed, titled and dated 1993 (on the underside of the base) bronze 70½ by 12 by 7⅛ in. 179.1 by 30.5 by 18.1 cm. Executed in 1993, this work is unique.
Magdalena Abakanowicz (Polish 1930-2017) Untitled. Resin, burlap and steel, signed with the author's monogram 'MA'. Art & Design section, The New York Times "Magdalena Abakanowicz, Sculptor of Brooding Forms, Dies at 86" By William Grimes, April 21, 2017 Magdalena Abakanowicz, a Polish sculptor who transformed sisal and burlap into brooding forms that evoked the weight of political oppression, the desperation of the individual and the sufferings of the natural world, died on Thursday in Warsaw. She was 86. She died after a long illness, her husband, Jan Kosmowski, said. Ms. Abakanowicz (pronounced ah-bah-kah-NO-vich), who once described her sculpture as “a search for organic mysteries,” first attracted critical attention in the 1960s with free-standing woven works made from sisal that she unraveled from discarded ships’ ropes and dyed. These Abakans, as they became known, were monumental, some more than 15 feet tall, hollow at the core and fitted with slits and folds. Hanging from the ceiling, nearly touching the floor, they resembled shrouds, twisted tree trunks, cocoons or druid priests — strange forms summoned from the lower depths of the collective unconscious. “Like all of Abakanowicz’s cycles, the ‘Abakans’ lead outward, away from what they might appear to represent, into psychology and history, toward fundamental links between human beings and nature that are always waiting to be recognized and explored by the imagination,” the critic Michael Brenson wrote in Art Journal in 1995. In the 1970s and ’80s, Ms. Abakanowicz embarked on a series of smaller-scale burlap works based on the human figure. They confirmed her growing reputation as one of the most original artists to come out of postwar Poland, a sorceress presiding over her own cult, turning out an endless variety of forms that addressed, in mythic terms, the dark forces at work in the 20th century. Magdalena Abakanowicz, via The National Museum in Wroclaw The stretched stitches and gnarled strands bursting their wrappings in the “Heads” series of 1973-75, part of a grander project called “Alterations,” suggested, in stark terms, psychic distress tipping over into madness. In the series “Seated Figures” (1974-79) and “Backs” (1976-82), Ms. Abakanowicz used the plaster mold of a man to make glued-burlap forms — headless and armless and sexless — that she deployed in groups. “Seated Figures” originally consisted of 18 torsos and legs resting on spare metal supports, lined up as though awaiting dire news. The hunched torsos in “Backs” — as many as 80 arranged in rows and bent over as though in prayer, or obeisance or in anticipation of the lash — cast a spell all the more powerful for their ambiguity. “The face can lie,” she told The Los Angeles Times in 2001. “The back cannot.” Two years after exhibiting 40 “Backs” at the 1980 Venice Biennale, Ms. Abakanowicz told The Chicago Tribune: “I was asked by the public: ‘Is it about the concentration camps in Poland?’ ‘Is it a ceremony in old Peru?’ ‘Is it a ritual in Bali?’ To all these questions, I could answer yes because my work is about the general problems of mankind.” Her imagination was fecund, whether working with burlap or, in later years, stone, tree trunks or bronze. “Embryology” (1976-82), the final series in “Alterations,” grew to include nearly 700 forms, soft burlap eggs ranging size from pebbles to boulders that looked like enormous Idaho potatoes. She executed 106 standing figures, each nine feet tall, for Agora, which was installed in Grant Park in Chicago in 2006. “I turn sculpture from an object to look at into a space to experience,” Ms. Abakanowicz told The Chicago Tribune in 2005. “Every sculpture can be turned into decoration. But if you have 100, you are confronted by them and must think and imagine and question yourself. This is what I want.” Krulwich/The New York Times Her art grew from difficult circumstances. She was born Marta Abakanowicz on a country estate in Falenty, southwest of Warsaw, on June 20, 1930. Her father, Konstanty, the son of a czarist general, was of Russian, Polish and Tatar extraction, his last name derived from a forebear, Abaqa Khan, who was Genghis Khan’s great-grandson. When the Russian Revolution broke out, Konstanty fled to Poland with a brother after the rest of the family was killed. Her mother, the former Helena Domaszowska, belonged to a noble landowning family, and Marta grew up on an estate about 125 miles east of Warsaw left by her grandparents. War brought ruin and horror. In 1943, drunken German soldiers burst into the family’s home and shot Marta’s mother, severing her right arm below the shoulder. She survived, but as Soviet troops advanced in 1944, the family relocated to Warsaw. Marta was recruited as a nurse’s aide, treating the wounded when German troops put down the futile uprising of the Polish Home Army and laid waste to the city. After the Communists assumed power, the family moved to Tczew, outside Gdansk, to avoid being identified as class enemies. Marta studied at the fine-arts lyceum in Gdynia and, after graduating in 1949, spent a year at the Gdansk Academy of Fine Arts, then located in Sopot. Around this time, seeking to break with her past, she began using the name Magdalena. In 1950, pretending to be the daughter of a clerk, she enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where she studied painting after being rejected for the sculpture program. It was an unhappy time. Socialist Realism, the only approved style, ran counter to her experimental tendencies, expressed in large-scale watercolors and gouaches on stitched-together bedsheets that depicted semiabstract biomorphic forms. “In Poland it was almost forbidden to talk about mystery,” she told The New York Times in 1992. “I did.” After graduating from the academy in 1954, she designed material for ties at a silk factory and, in a tiny one-room apartment, continued to paint. In 1965 she married Mr. Kosmowski, a civil engineer. In 1960, a show of her work at the Kordegarda Gallery in Warsaw was not allowed to open after a cultural official deemed it formalist. As luck would have it, the eminent tapestry artist Maria Laszkiewicz peeked inside and, seeing the fiber-art works that Ms. Abakanowicz had included in the show, added her name to a list of artists to be included in the first Biennale de la Tapisserie in Lausanne in 1962. She also allowed Ms. Abakanowicz to make use of her basement workshop and looms. For the biennial, Ms. Abakanowicz submitted Composition of White Forms, in which she used old clothesline to create a rough abstract surface. Three years later she won the gold medal at the São Paulo Biennial. Chafing at the limits of fabric art, she began to conceive of her work in sculptural terms and created the first Abakans, initially one at a time and later in groups. Works such as Bois-le-Duc (1970-71), a “forest” series of overlapping black, brown and reddish panels 26 feet tall, and Black Environment (1970-78), a grouping of 15 hulking black forms, brought her international attention, especially after she was chosen to represent Poland at the 1980 Venice Biennale. Exhibitions in Los Angeles and Pasadena, Calif., introduced her to an American audience in the early 1970s, and in 1982 the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago organized a traveling retrospective of her work. Ms. Abakanowicz began using metal in the late 1980s for works such as Bronze Crowd (1990-91) and Puellae (1992). In her most explicitly political series, “War Games,” begun in 1989, she used tree trunks rejected as unfit for lumber and, after attacking them with an ax and chain saw, fitted them with steel blades and casings. Some looked like severed human limbs, others like fearsome weapons. Fear, passivity, aggression, suffering — Ms. Abakanowicz stayed true to her themes, leaving viewers to draw their own conclusions. “Everybody can discover in them what he wants to,” she told The Chicago Tribune. “Very seldom is the interpretation against my feelings. Most of the time it is something I can accept.” Awards and Honors 1965 The Grand Prix at the São Paulo Biennale 1974 Honorary Doctorate of the Royal College of Art, London 1992 Honorary Doctorate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence 1993 Award, Distinction in Sculpture, granted by Sculpture Center, New York 1998 Honorary Doctorate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz, Poland 2000 Honorary Doctorate of the Pratt Institute, New York 2001 Honorary Doctorate of the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston 2002 Honorary Doctorate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland 2004 Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Paris Solo Exhibitions 2004 Biel, Centre PasquArt, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Abakan - Situation variable 1971 2003 Dusseldorf, Galerie Beck & Eggeling, Magdalena Abakanowicz 1991 - 1992 Minneapolis, Walker Art Center, The Crowd 1988 Seoul, Olympic Park, Sculptures 1981 Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris Group Exhibitions ssische Kunst Schloss Ujazdowski, Von Picasso bis Warhol Luzern, Kunstmuseum, me & more Künzelsau, Museum Würth, Drei Bildhauerpositionen und ein Maler Schwäbisch Hall, Kunsthalle Würth, Von Riemenschneider bis Rabinowitch 1980 Venice, Biennale, Polish Pavilion 1965 São Paulo, Biennale
"Works from the collection of the National Museum Wroclaw-Poland" by Magdalena Abakanowicz, 1994 Unsigned Offset Lithograph. Paper size is 33.25 x 23.5 inches, with an image size of 33.25 x 23.5 inches. The Offset Lithograph is from an unknown edition size. and is not framed. The condition was rated A-: Near Mint, very light signs of handling. Additional details: Exhibition poster for Abakanowicz, Hatas, Jurkiewicz and Mazurkiewicz featuring works from the collection of the National Museum Wroclaw-Poland. De Beyerd, Breda 6.3-10.4 1994.
Magdalena Abakanowicz (Polish 1930 - 2017) Figurative artist and Sculptor. Abakanowiczs work has been featured in more than 40 solo exhibitions worldwide and honored with numerous awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center in Hamilton, New Jersey, in 2005. Dimensions: paper 12 X 16 inches, framed approx. 27 X 21 inches. This lot has a reserve.
ABAKANOWICZ, MAGDALENA 1930 Falenty/Poland - 2017 Warsaw Title: "Anatomy" (6-teilig). Technique: Burlap and synthetic resin on wood. On iron frame. Title and Measurement: a) Anatomy. 88 x 31 x 28.5cm, b) Anatomy 2. 100 x 89.5 x 23cm, c) Anatomy 4. 89 x 62 x 15cm, d) Anatomy 6. 112 x 98 x 22.5cm, e) Anatomy 16. 87 x 25.5 x 28cm, f) Anatomy 17. 89 x 26,5 x 29,5cm. Notation: Each titled, signed and dated on the back of the plaque: ANATOMY M. ABAKANOWICZ 2009. Here also with the artist's signature and partly numbered. Copies of the respective certificates from Ms Magdalena Grabowska, Studio Magdalena Abakanowicz (the artist's assistant), are enclosed with the mixed lot. Provenance: - Private collection Poland Exhibitions: - Galerie Scheffel, Bad Homburg 2009 Literature: - Exhib. cat. Magdalena Abakanowicz, Kulturzentrum Englische Kirche/Galerie Scheffel, Bad Homburg 2009, p. 66ff., ill. - Significant, sculptural work from the well-known "Antomy" group with a typical textile surface - Questions about the vulnerability of human beings based on her own experience and cognition drove the artist throughout her life and become clear in this work - The Tate Modern in London is dedicating an exhibition to the artist's early "Abakans" in 2022 Estimated shipping costs for this lot: Arrangement after the auction. Explanations to the Catalogue
The Collection of Phyllis & Jerome Lyle Rappaport Magdalena Abakanowicz 1930 - 2017 Small Figure on Wheel resin, burlap and steel 84½ by 8½ by 39 in. 214.6 by 21.6 by 99.1 cm. Executed in 1992-93.
Magdalena Abakanowicz Untitled 2000 burlap, resin, steel 46 h x 10 w x 10 d in (117 x 25 x 25 cm) Incised signature to base 'MA'. Provenance: Gift from the artist to Dick Polich | Private Collection Literature: Magdalena Abakanowicz: Sculpture, Marlborough Gallery, Inc. exhibition catalog, ppg. 52-53 illustrate similar works This work will ship from Lambertville, New Jersey.
Magdalena Abakanowicz EN3 (Relief) 1966 jute, wool and metallic thread, horsehair, metal, cotton 43 h x 50 w x 1.5 d in (109 x 127 x 4 cm) Signed, titled and dated to label to verso 'Magdalena Abakanowicz EN3(Relief)1966 M Abakanowicz'. Provenance: Private Collection This work will ship from Los Angeles, California.
MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ (1930-2017) Face XVII-from the Incarnation Cycle bronze on painted wooden base sculpture: 25 1/2 x 9 3/8 x 8 1/8 in. (63.8 x 23.6 x 20.6 cm.) overall: 41 x 9 3/8 x 8 1/8 in. (104.1 x 23.6 x 20.6 cm.)
MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ (Falenty 1930–2017 Warsaw) Cercle Coupé. 1972. Tapestry. Red sisal. Signed, titled, dated and with measurements on the label on the underside: MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ "CERCLE COUPE" 1972 145×145 cm. M. Abakanowicz. 145 × 145 cm. Provenance: - Galerie Alice Pauli, Lausanne. - Purchased from the above by the present owner in 1973, since then private collection Switzerland. The sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz was born in 1930 into a Polish aristocratic family. She studied painting at the Academy of Arts in Gdansk from 19491 to 1954, but even then, she harboured a great fascination for sculptural works. The Abakans, named after her surname, became her trademark. In the 1960s/70s, these works were unique in their innovation and radicalism. In her large-scale installations, she liberated textile art from its traditional purpose as wall hangings or carpets, which are two-dimensional and decorative. In the case of Abakanowicz, the works, some of which are monumental, are hung freely in the room and thus become moving objects. The viewer wanders through this newly created world dominated by huge hanging objects. The difficult economic situation behind the Iron Curtain led Abakanowicz to use found materials such as ropes, cordage, textiles, etc. for her sculptures. In order to be able to work with them in a way that suited her ideas, she developed her own technique. On the one hand, she elevated found, everyday objects to the status of traditional sculptural materials such as bronze, plaster etc. At the same time, the use of textiles lent her sculptures mobility and a certain softness, which again creates a very special experience for the viewer when walking through the installations. The present work Cercle Coupé from 1972 is an impressive example of Abakanowicz's textile art. She knotted an oval carpet out of orange sisal, with two bulges in the middle, which in turn conceal a slit. Different knotting techniques create a shifting surface; the bulges consist of individual, detached sisal threads. The title is a purely technical description of what is there. What the viewer sees and interprets is up to them. Magdalena Abakanowizc was awarded the Grand Prix at the 1965 Sao Paulo Biennale for her incredible power of innovation and radicalism, which she impressively demonstrated with the Abakans. The cultural but also social significance of this unique artist is reflected in the impressive cross-border and cross-institutional awards she received, such as the Sculpture Prize of the Sculpture Centre New York, the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Resituta, the appointment as Officer of the Order of Arts and Science in Paris and the appointment as Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy. She was also an honorary doctor of the Royal Academy of Art, London, the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, the Academy of Fine Arts Lodz, the Pratt Institute New York, the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, among others. In 2010, Abakanowicz was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany. --------------- MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ (Falenty 1930–2017 Warschau) Cercle Coupé. 1972. Teppich. Roter Sisal. Auf dem Etikett auf der Unterseite signiert, betitelt, datiert und mit Massangaben: MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ "CERCLE COUPE" 1972 145×145 cm. M. Abakanowicz. 145 × 145 cm. Provenienz: - Galerie Alice Pauli, Lausanne. - Bei obiger Galerie vom heutigen Besitzer 1973 erworben, seitdem Privatsammlung Schweiz. Die 1930 geborene Bildhauerin Magdalena Abakanowicz entstammt einer polnischen Adelsfamilie. Sie studiert von 1949 bis 1954 an der Kunstakademie in Danzig Malerei, hegt aber schon da eine grosse Faszination für plastische Arbeiten. Die nach ihrem Nachnamen benannten Abakans werden zum Markenzeichen der Künstlerin. In den 1960er/70er Jahren sind diese Werke in ihrer Innovation und Radikalität einzigartig. In raumgreifenden Installationen befreit sie die Textilkunst aus ihrer bis dato angestammten Daseinsberechtigung als Wandbehang oder Teppich – zweidimensional und dekorativ. Bei der Polin werden die teils monumentalen Arbeiten frei in den Raum gehängt und auf diese Weise zu bewegten Objekten. Der Betrachter wandert durch diese neu kreierte Welt, die von riesigen, hängenden Objekten beherrscht wird. Die schwierige ökonomische Situation hinter dem Eisernen Vorhang führt dazu, dass Abakanowicz gefundene Materialien wie Seile, Taue, Textilien etc. für ihre Skulpturen verwendet. Um sie entsprechend ihrer Vorstellungen verarbeiten zu können, entwickelt sie eine eigene Technik. Zum einen erhebt die Polin damit gefundene, alltägliche Objekte zu gleichwertigen Materialien wie Bronze, Gips, etc. Gleichzeitig verleiht sie ihren Skulpturen mit der Verwendung von Textilien Beweglichkeit und eine gewisse Sanftheit, was beim Begehen der Installationen nochmals eine ganz spezielle Erfahrung für den Betrachter bedeutet. Die vorliegende Arbeit Cercle Coupé von 1972 ist ein eindrückliches Beispiel für Abakanowiczs Textilkunst. Aus orangefarbenem Sisal knüpft sie einen ovalen Teppich, mit zwei Wülsten in der Mitte, die wiederum einen Schlitz verbergen. Unterschiedliche Knüpftechniken erschaffen eine bewegte Oberfläche; die Wülste bestehen aus einzelnen, herausgelösten Sisalfäden. Der Titel ist eine rein technische Beschreibung dessen was da ist. Was der Betrachter sieht und interpretiert, ist ihm überlassen. Für ihre unglaubliche Innovationskraft und Radikalität, die sie mit den Abakans imposant unter Beweis stellt, erhält Magdalena Abakanowizc auf der Biennale Sao Paulo von 1965 den Grand Prix. Die kulturelle aber auch gesellschaftliche Bedeutung dieser einzigartigen Künstlerin zeigen ihre imposanten, grenz- und institutionsüberschreitenden Auszeichnungen wie der Skulpturenpreis des Sculpture Centre New York, das Kommandeurskreuz des Ordens Polonia Resituta, die Ernennung zum Offizier des Ordens der Künste und Wissenschaft in Paris sowie die Ernennung zum Ritter des Verdienstordens der Republik Italien. Zudem ist sie u.a. Ehrendoktorin der Royal Academy of Art, London, der Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, der Akademie der Schönen Künste Lodz, des Pratt Institute New York, des Massachusetts College of Art, Boston. 2010 wird ihr das Grosse Bundesverdienstkreuz mit Stern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland verliehen. ---------------
Magdalena Abakanowicz 1930 - 2017 Magdelet, from the Incarnations Cycle incised with the artist’s monogram, title and date 87 (on the side of the base) bronze 25 by 9¾ by 7⅜ in. 63.5 by 17.1 by 18.7 cm. Executed in 1987. This work will be included in the forthcoming Magdalena Abakanowicz Catalogue Raisonné.
ABAKANOWICZ, MAGDALENA 1930 Falenty/Poland - 2017 Warsaw Title: "Anatomy". Date: 2009. Technique: Hessian and synthetic resin on wood. On iron frame. Measurement: 95 x 30 x 19cm. Notation: Titled, signed and dated on the back on plaque: ANATOMY 8 ABAKANOWICZ 2009. Provenance: - Private collection North Rhine-Westphalia. Explanations to the Catalogue
MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ 1930 Falenty, Polen - 2017 Warschau 'ANATOMIA' (2009) 6-teilige Skulpturen-Installation, Eisenständer, Jute, Harz, Holz. ca. 112 x 180 x 115 cm. Jew. mit einer Metalplakette signiert, datiert und betitelt. Die Bildhauerin und Textilkünstlerin Magdalena Abakanowicz wurde 1930 in Falenty, Polen geboren und zählt zu den bekanntesten polnischen Künstlerinnen des 20. Jahrhunderts.Von 1949 bis 1954 studierte Abakanowicz Malerei an den Kunstakademien in Danzig und Warschau, wendete sich aber bereits früh der Bildhauerei zu. 1961 begann sie die Arbeit mit handgewebten Textilien. Zu Ihrer bekanntesten Werkgruppe gehören die, von ihrem Nachnamen abgeleiteten, 'Abakans' (1966 - 1975), mit denen Abakanowicz die Gattung der Skulptur radikal erneuerte. Die großformatigen Objekte aus gewebten Fasern oder auch Pferdehaare oder Baumwolle, wurden meist von der Decke hängend im Raum inszeniert und zueinander in Beziehung gesetzt. Diese biomorphen Gebilde, die sich zwischen Malerei, Skulptur und Webkunst bewegen, veranschaulichen auf einzigartige Weise die sinnliche Präsenz der weichen Materialien. In den ausgehenden 1970er und 1980er Jahren verdrängen reale Körperzitate die abstrakte Formensprache der frühen Stoffskulpturen. In der Werkgruppe der 'Backs' wurden Körpertorsi aus textilem Material wie Jute, Sisal und Sackleinen in vielfacher Ausführung nebeneinander gereiht. Erst eine genaue Betrachtung offenbart, dass die jeweils einzeln ausgearbeiteten Hüllen sich unterscheiden. Im Mittelpunkt von Abakanowiczs kreativem Schaffen stehen der Mensch und sein Platz in der Welt, sein Körper, die Anonymität und der Verlust des Individuums in der Masse.'ANATOMIA' aus dem Jahr 2009 ist ein Spätwerk der Künstlerin und zeigt eine Gruppe von anatomischen Hüllen, die mit Modellformen aus Sackleinen, Klebstoff und Harz geschaffen wurden. Diese Hüllen von Füßen, Armen und Händen, die fragmentarisch wie in einer Anatomiestunde aufgebahrt sind, konfrontieren den Betrachter mit der eigenen Körperlichkeit und verletzlichen Existenz. Obwohl Abakanowicz im Laufe der Jahre mit verschiedenen Materialien, wie Bronze, Metall oder Holz gearbeitet hat, ist ihr Markenzeichen das Sackleinen, dem sie eine völlig neue, räumliche Dimension verliehen hat. Ihre Werke sind weltweit in Museen und Galerien zu sehen, unter anderen in den USA, Israel, Frankreich und Japan. Zuletzt widmete die Tate Modern in London ihrem künstlerischen Schaffen eine Ausstellung.Magdalena Abakanowicz verstarb am 20. April 2017 in Warschau. An einem Element part. min. best. Provenienz: Seit 2019 in Privatsammlung Polen, direkt erworben bei The Magdalena Abakanowicz Foundation. MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ 1930 Falenty, Poland - 2017 Warsaw 'ANATOMIA' (2009) 6-part sculpture installation, iron stand, jute, resin, wood. Approx. 112 x 180 x 115 cm. Each signed, dated and titled with a metal plaque. On one element partly min. dam. The sculptor and textile artist Magdalena Abakanowicz was born in 1930 in Falenty, Poland and is one of the most famous Polish artists of the 20th century. From 1949 to 1954 Abakanowicz studied painting at the art academies in Gdansk and Warsaw, but turned to sculpture at an early age. In 1961 she began working with hand-woven textiles. Her best-known group of works includes the 'Abakans' (1966 - 1975), derived from her surname, with which Abakanowicz radically renewed the genre of sculpture. The large-format objects, made of woven fibres or even horsehair or cotton, were usually staged hanging from the ceiling in the room and placed in relation to each other. These biomorphic structures, which move between painting, sculpture and woven art, illustrate the sensual presence of the soft materials in a unique way. In the late 1970s and 1980s, real body quotations displace the abstract formal language of the early fabric sculptures. In the group of works called 'Backs', body torsos made of textile materials such as jute, sisal and burlap were lined up next to each other in multiple versions. Only a close inspection reveals that the individually worked out covers differ from each other. The focus of Abakanowicz's creative work is man and his place in the world, his body, anonymity and the loss of the individual in the mass. 'ANATOMIA' from 2009 is a late work by the artist and shows a group of anatomical shells created with model moulds made of burlap, glue and resin. These sheaths of feet, arms and hands, fragmentarily laid out as if in an anatomy lesson, confront the viewer with their own physicality and vulnerable existence. Although Abakanowicz has worked with various materials over the years, such as bronze, metal or wood, her trademark is burlap, to which she has given a completely new, spatial dimension. Her works can be seen in museums and galleries worldwide, including the USA, Israel, France and Japan. Most recently, the Tate Modern in London dedicated an exhibition to her artistic work. Magdalena Abakanowicz died in Warsaw on 20 April 2017. Provenance: Since 2019 in private collection Poland, acquired directly from The Magdalena Abakanowicz Foundation.
"Works from the collection of the National Museum Wroclaw-Poland" by Magdalena Abakanowicz, 1994 Unsigned Offset Lithograph. Paper size is 33.25 x 23.5 inches, with an image size of 33.25 x 23.5 inches. The Offset Lithograph is from an unknown edition size. and is not framed. The condition was rated A-: Near Mint, very light signs of handling. Additional details: Exhibition poster for Abakanowicz, Hatas, Jurkiewicz and Mazurkiewicz featuring works from the collection of the National Museum Wroclaw-Poland. De Beyerd, Breda 6.3-10.4 1994.
Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish, 1930 to 2017, ink painting on paper depicting an abstract composition with an eye, 2008. Signed and dated lower right. Framed. Magdalena Abakanowicz is known for Figurative and abstract symbolic social realist sculpture, fiber art. Magdalena Abakanowicz, a Polish sculptor who transformed sisal and burlap into brooding forms that evoked the weight of political oppression, the desperation of the individual and the sufferings of the natural world. One of a kind artwork.
Magdalena Abakanowicz (Polish, 1930-2017) Untitled (Face), 2005 jute and resin on metal base incised MA, inscribed and dated Height: 27 inches. Provenance: Acquired directly from the Artist by the present owner
Magdalena Abakanowicz (Polish, 1930-2017) NANA (Red with Black), 1970-80 mixed media and dyed woven sisal signed M. Abakanowicz, titled and dated (verso) 120 x 67 inches. The Estate of Bernice Weissbourd, Evanston, Illinois Lot Essay: "Art will remain the most astonishing activity of mankind born out of struggle between wisdom and madness, between dream and reality in our mind. Each scientific discovery opens doors behind which we are confronted with new closed doors. Art does not solve problems but makes us aware of their existence. It opens our eyes to see and our brain to imagine. To have imagination and to be aware of it means to benefit from possessing an inner richness and a spontaneous and endless floor of images. It means to see the world in its entirely, since the point of the images is to show all that which escapes conceptualization." -Magdalena Abakanowicz Magdalena Abakanowicz (Polish, 1930-2017) – known as the godmother of installation art – has the extraordinary ability to create works that are experienced rather than observed, both existential and intimate in the same breath. We are proud to present to you in this sale two works that accurately frame this dichotomy: NANA (Red with Black) (1970-80) and Untitled (Face) (2005). Born to an upper-class family with noble heritage in Falenty, Poland, on the outskirts of Warsaw, Marta Abakanowicz grew up idyllically, and then very quickly. German tanks arrived in 1939; her mother’s arm was shot off by a drunken soldier four years later, and the family began fleeing consecutive Soviet and Nazi invasions. She became a nurse's aide at age 14 at a hospital in Warsaw, a child witnessing firsthand the horrors of war. As the frontlines approached, the family moved to anonymity on the Baltic coast. After completing high school, Marta changed her name to Magdalena and moved to Warsaw, doing manual labor and giving blood to support herself. After enrolling in the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw at age 20, Abakanowicz would be discouraged from the “masculine” discipline of painting, which was ultimately for the best, as her bold vision and creative playing with medium would have been constricted and confined in the state-approved genre of Socialist Realism. It was this considerable corresponding lack of academic and masculine oversight which allowed her true creative freedom. Following her education, Abakanowicz began to make work influenced by Constructivism, leading to her first solo show in Warsaw in the spring of 1960 that featured four weavings alongside her gouaches and watercolors. This show led to her inclusion in the first Biennale Internationale de le Tapisserie in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1962, which would shape the rest of her artistic development, and marked the beginning of her Abakans. Abakanowicz’s eponymous Abakans are three-dimensional fiber works span as much as thirteen feet, woven using her own technique from found material, including sisal ropes from harbors, along with rope, hemp, flax, wool, and horsehair. Abakans are womb-like, both comforting and suffocating in their envelopment, and ominous when presenting in multiples. Abakanowicz was childless; the spaces she creates make the viewer’s role embryonic. The womanly art of textile work produced flat decorations to be looked at; Abakanowicz creates an inoccupancy a viewer can’t help but experience. The subject of Abakanowicz’s oeuvre was primarily the human body, which she dissected and reassembled with a calculated omniscience, as if she herself did not possess one. “When examining man, I am in fact examining myself,” she said. “My forms are the skins I strip off myself one by one, marking the milestones along my road.” NANA (Red with Black) is a behemoth, a true Abakan, roughhewn and laboriously stitched, an excellent example of exactly the type of labor Abakanowicz wished onlookers to experience. The influence of Abakanowicz’s childhood can be seen in the disfigured forms of the latter part of her career, never whole but sometimes clumped together, missing integral parts but standing on their own. Chicagoans will be quick to recognize Agora (2004-06), an installation of 106 headless and armless iron sculptures in Grant Park, the largest figurative sculpture of its time. Agora evokes a sense of crowdedness, yet even en masse, the forms are unique in texture, with surfaces resembling skin or bark. Our second offering, Untitled (Face) (2005), comes from a private collection, gifted directly from the artist during her tenure in Chicago during the creation of Agora. Untitled (Face) is an amalgamation of Abakanowicz’s study of the human form, disembodied and fragile, close-mouthed, and creased with concern. It is equal parts haunting and earnest, a fitting offering from the artist herself. Abakanowicz was laid to rest in Warsaw in 2017. In addition to her contribution to the landscape of Chicago, Abakanowicz’s work has been collected internationally and her accolades are many, though perhaps her biggest achievement has been the indelible mark she left as an artist on the practice of installation and the experience given to the viewer in her work.
Magdalena Abakanowicz (Polish, 1930-2017). An original mixed media resin composition statue. Titled, "Running," produced 2002. A life-sized figural work depicting an abstract headless figure, modeled in a running motion with a color and texture mimicking bronze. Artist monogram A signature. Presented on a ceramic tubular plinth with embossed title, date, and the letter A. Dimensions: 83 X 11.75 X 21 in. Condition: Good overall condition having normal surface wear. Estate fresh to the market. Shipping: Hill Auction Gallery does not offer in-house shipping for this item. Gallery will refer third party shippers for all domestic and international buyers. Purchaser pick up available upon request. Got something to sell? Contact us at HillAuctionGallery.com
Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish, 1930 to 2017, ink painting on paper depicting an abstract composition with an eye, 1980. Signed lower right. Framed. Magdalena Abakanowicz is known for Figurative and abstract symbolic social realist sculpture, fiber art. Magdalena Abakanowicz, a Polish sculptor who transformed sisal and burlap into brooding forms that evoked the weight of political oppression, the desperation of the individual and the sufferings of the natural world. One of a kind artwork.
(1930 Falenty - Warschau 2017). Plecy. Lithographie. 1987. 70 x 100 cm. Mit Prägestempel: Quensen Lithographie. - Ex. 29/100. - Lithograph with embossed stamp. D
MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ (Polish 1930 - 2017) Piccola - 1991 Bronze with brown patina Monogrammed, titled, and dated on verso along base, and with Venturi Foundry mark 70 inches x 12 inches x 7 inches (178cm x 31cm x 18cm) Provenance Acquired by the present owner directly from Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Santa Monica, California and accompanied with a copy of original receipt of purchase dated December 10, 1993. Polish sculpture and fiber artist Magadalena Abakanowicz was born into a noble family in Poland in 1930. When Germany invaded Poland just 10 years later, Magdalena would have her comfortable and well-to-do life torn out from under her as she was exposed first hand to the awful violence of the Nazis, and tragically saw her mother shot and killed. After the end of the war, political unrest continued, and Poland endured decades of Communist control. The effects of these traumas would eventually be reflected in both Magdalenas resilient spirit and fascinating art. Magdalena graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in 1954 and began working as an independent artist. Early in her career, she wanted to create large three-dimensional works, however both space and supplies were strictly limited. Resourceful Magdalena did not let this stop her, and began to create what are now known as Abakans, which are massive fiber installation pieces. By unraveling and re-weaving burlap sacks, she was able to create massive, impactful, three dimensional works with very little resources, which could be folded up and stored like a blanket when not displayed. Gradually, throughout the 70s and 80s, her work evolved from soft and pliable construction to hard surfaced, and much of her later work was made of bronze, stone, iron, or concrete, as we see here in the offered lot. The 70s and 80s also saw huge social and political change in Poland, as the end of communism drew near. It was from this time that we start to see headless human figures in Magdalenas work, including the notable Backs (1976-80), The Crowds (ongoing from 1985), and Bambini (1998-99). In each of these renowned works, Magdalena portrays large counts of massive humanoid sculptures in seemingly repetitive form. However, upon closer inspection one will find that each figure has deliberately and intimately been created with unique characteristics. They are not all the same. Through the portrayal of her massive headless figures, Magdalena has created a society of related creatures who have no voice or autonomy, but are unique individuals none-the-less. Unmoving, they are echoes of the past, but also permanently affixed in the present. In a world of people so divided, these figures convey that although we are each unique to some small degree, our similarities are so much greater than our differences. SHIPPING NOTICE: Jackson's is your sole and only source for one stop packing and shipping. With over 50 years of experience, our professional, affordable and efficient in-house shipping department will be happy to provide you a fair and reasonable shipping quote on this lot. Simply email us before the auction for a quick quote: shipping@jacksonsauction.com or call 1-800-665-6743. Jackson's can expertly pack and ship to meet any of your needs. To ensure quality control Jackson's DOES NOT release to third party shippers.
Incisione a cera molle. mm 155x115. Foglio: mm 260x196. Firmata a matita in basso a destra e numerata in basso a sinistra. Es. 60/100. Entro cartellina protettiva al cui piatto anteriore è stampato: "Incisione a cera molle originale firmata autograficamente dall'Artista per l'Edizione Katarsis."
Property from the Collection of Anne and William Frej Magdalena Abakanowicz Polish 1930 - 2017 Composition signed and dated M Abakanowicz 1997 lower left watercolour and ink on paper Unframed: 35.5 by 43.1cm., 14 by 17in. Framed: 60.5 by 65.5cm., 23¾ by 25¾in. Bid on Sotheby's
r.o.handsig., dat, (19)87, Falenty 1930 - 2017 Warschau, 'Menge (Plecy)', Lithographie, 10/100, 70 x 100 cm, ohne Glas - aus der Grafik-Edition 'Medien der Zukunft - Zukunft der Medien', Hrsg. FAZ -
(1930 Falenty - Warschau 2017). Plecy. Lithographie. 1987. 70 x 100 cm. Mit Prägestempel: Quensen Lithographie. - Ex. 29/100. - Lithograph with embossed stamp. D
"Works from the collection of the National Museum Wroclaw-Poland" by Magdalena Abakanowicz, 1994 Unsigned Offset Lithograph. Paper size is 33.25 x 23.5 inches, with an image size of 33.25 x 23.5 inches. The Offset Lithograph is from an unknown edition size. and is not framed. The condition was rated A-: Near Mint, very light signs of handling. Additional details: Exhibition poster for Abakanowicz, Hatas, Jurkiewicz and Mazurkiewicz featuring works from the collection of the National Museum Wroclaw-Poland. De Beyerd, Breda 6.3-10.4 1994.
Magdalena ABAKANOWICZ (1930-2017) Relief sculpture, 1973 Dyed woven sisal. Signed, dated and titled on a label on the back. Dyed woven sisal. Signed, dated and titled on the label on the back. H_135 cm W_206 cm Relief sculpture, 1973 Sisal tissé teint. Signé, daté et titré sur une étiquette au dos. Dyed woven sisal. Signed, dated and titled on the label on the back. H_135 cm L_206 cm
Incisione a cera molle. mm 155x115. Foglio: mm 260x196. Firmata a matita in basso a destra e numerata in basso a sinistra. Es. 60/100. Entro cartellina protettiva al cui piatto anteriore è stampato: "Incisione a cera molle originale firmata autograficamente dall'Artista per l'Edizione Katarsis." Provenienza: Collezione Luciano Catarzi. (1)
MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ (1930-2017) Relief sombre de stefa signed twice, titled and dated 'MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ "RELIEF SOMBRE DE STEFA" 1975 M. Abakanowicz' (on a label stitched to the reverse) dyed woven sisal 41 3/8 x 51 1/8in. (105 x 130cm.) Executed in 1975
