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Julita Deluga about Magdalena Abakanowicz


Magdalena Abakanowicz is one of the most original and interesting Polish artists. Her art is present all over the world: spatially present but also present in the consciousness of her viewers. Throughout her life, Abakanowicz took great care of her creative image.
With great courage and verve she explored new mediums, new themes and, above all, innovative means of expression for her art. Her works express respect for nature and passion for human biology as well as the animal world. Abakanowicz was born on June 20, 1930 in Falenty near Warsaw. Her childhood was marked by intense contact with nature and a fascination with the world around her. The time of her childhood and early youth was abruptly interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War and the dramatic wartime fortunes of the Abakanowicz family. In 1954, the artist graduated from the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. Initially, she experimented with painting. Very quickly, however, her interests evolved towards textile art.
In the mid-1960s, Magdalena Abakanowicz's creative explorations finally crystallised and took visible form. She developed a highly original and unique style of textile works named Abakans. Abakans – neither tapestries nor sculptures, three-dimensional textile forms also known as ‘soft sculptures’ – combined the language of abstraction with organic, biological means of expression. Such spatial textile creations were presented at the 1965 São Paulo International Biennale. The prize won at this festival established the artist’s position in the world and highlighted her distinctiveness and uniqueness. Abakans represented an escape from categorisation in the arts, they could not be easily classified or pigeonholed. Though made of cloth, they were not flat and did not hang against the wall. Suspended from the ceiling, the huge sisal forms absorbed space with their three-dimensionality, but also with their ability to move. For they could be set in motion.
Around 1970, thick sailor’s ship rope entered the world of Abakans. Coils, knots, loops and labyrinths of tangled rope allowed Abakanowicz to move seamlessly from Abakans to human figures, to tableaux of multiplied figures created from jute sacks.
The 1970s also saw the creation of highly innovative soft, oval sculptures in the form of ‘cocoons’ of various sizes and textures. Entire cycles were created: Heads, Schizoid Heads, Embryology as well as Backs, and Sitting Figures. The common feature of all these compositions is the multiple replication of similar shapes. The works were made of organic materials such as sack cloth or ropes stiffened with resin. They were shown for the frst time at the Venice Biennale in 1980.
The 1970s also saw the creation of highly innovative soft, oval sculptures in the form of ‘cocoons’ of various sizes and textures. Entire cycles were created: Heads, Schizoid Heads, Embryology as well as Backs, and Sitting Figures. The common feature of all these compositions is the multiple replication of similar shapes. The works were made of organic materials such as sack cloth or ropes stiffened with resin. They were shown for the frst time at the Venice Biennale in 1980.
Parallel to those creations, Abakanowicz makes single works and groupings of objects for which she picks new materials and means of expression. Around 1987, the artist begins to create monumental wood compositions. The series War Games is created, in which the raw tree trunk plays an essential role.
All the while, individual jute, concrete or bronze figures were also being created, which form part of the so-called Crowds or Hurmas, and Alternations. Animalistic forms also appeared, such as the series Heads of Hoofed Animals, Incarnations or Mutants. Around 2002, human figures are given animal traits and sometimes predatory, bird-like facial features like the figures in Coexistance. At all stages of her work, Abakanowicz made drawings. Her works belonging to the series Faces that Are Not Portraits accompanied her all her life, evolving and changing. Throughout her career, Magdalena Abakanowicz continued and creatively developed all the themes of her artistic interest. Her works combine a profound intellectual analysis of the surrounding world with the artistic intuition, her inner world is filtered through personal experience. This combination gave birth to a ‘style’ that is unique and appreciated around the world.
Magdalena Abakanowicz died in Warsaw in 2017 surrounded by her loved ones. Until her last days, she remained thoughtful of her artistic image.
 
Julita Deluga
art historian, curator at the Starmach Gallery
 

  THE MARTA MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ-KOSMOWSKA AND JAN KOSMOWSKI FOUNDATION

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