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The history of sculpture in the
modern era justifiably begins with French artist Auguste Rodin, who did more to
change our understanding of the medium than any artist since Michelangelo. He
brought a level of expressiveness to the figure that changed the very notion of
three-dimensional representation. He is often cited for his ability to express
internal experience and emotion through external features.
This exhibition begins with the
monumental bronze seated figure, Cybele, ca. 1890, on loan from the
private collection of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor. Another Rodin, the museum?s
smaller important bronze, Glaucus, 1886-87, is also on display. Two
other monumental works are featured in the main gallery: Henry Moore, Woman
(Seated Torso or Parze), 1957-58, and Robert Therrien, No Title (stacked
plates, butter), 2007. Moore?s monumental seated figure extends the
expressive mode of Rodin into the high modern aesthetic of mid-century. And
Therrien?s stack illustrates the movement into Minimalism and Pop art that
characterizes post-modern sculpture.
Another giant of twentieth-century
sculpture, Pablo Picasso, is featured in the main gallery near the entrance
with mid-century pieces that suggest the artist?s command of materials and his
aesthetic power. Pregnant Woman, 1950/59, on loan from the Nasher Sculpture
Center, is an imposing figure that dramatically contrasts with the Rodin and
Moore visions of the female figure. Picasso?s works, simultaneously figurative
and abstract, reflect the currents of Expressionism dominant in the post-WWII
period. His glazed ceramic white earthenware Owl (Hibou), 1951,
demonstrates the artist?s interest in redefining craft.
Together, these works establish
the historical trajectory of the exhibition and suggest the wide range of
possibilities that were opened up to sculpture in the twentieth century. The
spoke galleries feature smaller-scaled works by many of the most important
artists of the twentieth century. Several are devoted to Expressive Modernism,
featuring works by Edgar Degas, Auguste Rodin, Marino Marini, Alberto
Giacometti, Jacques Lipchitz, Gerhard Marcks, and Henry Moore. Other spoke
galleries will represent Organic and Geometric Abstraction with works by Jean
Hans Arp, Alexander Calder, Richard Stankiewicz, Joel Shapiro, and Leon Polk
Smith. Later twentieth-century sculptures by Antony Gormley, Gunther Uecker,
Donald Judd, and Anthony Caro demonstrate Minimalist Experiments in sculpture.
The corner gallery references artists whose interests in light and transparency
led them to work in resin and glass, such as Frederick Eversley, Daniel
Clayman, and Jim Hodges.
The exhibition also offers a
glimpse into the expanding role of sculpture within post-modern practice, with
works by Claes Oldenburg, Cal Lane, Richard Artschwager, Lynda Benglis, Bob Van
Breda, and Bettina Pousttchi. The Pousttchi, in particular, offers another
monumental work that engages with its forerunners in the history of sculpture,
linking Russian Constructivism, Minimalism, Light and Space. Finally, the
Media/Photography gallery demonstrates how new media artists have engaged with
three-dimensionality through innovative strategies in works by Tracey Emin,
Peter Sarkisian, and Jennifer Steinkamp.
This exhibition was organized by Palm Springs Art Museum.
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