Alina Szapocznikow: Sculpture Undone, 1955-1972

February 5, 2012 - April 29, 2012

: Alina Szapocznikow Petit Dessert I (Small Dessert I) 1970-71 Colored polyester resin and glass. 3 3/16 x 4 5/16 x 5 1/8 in. (8 x 11 x 13 cm). Private Collection, New York. Photo courtesy Broadway 1602, New York, and Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne. Photo by Thomas Mueller. © The Estate of Alina Szapocznikow - Piotr Stanislawski. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.; Alina Szapocznikow Autoportret I (Self-Portrait I) 1966 Marble and polyester resin; 16 1/8 x 11 13/16 x 7 7/8 in. (1 x 30 x 20 cm). Courtesy Estate Alina Szapocznikow / Piotr Stanislawski / Galerie Loevenbruck, Paris. © ADAGP, Paris. Photo: Fabrice Gousset.© 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.; Alina Szapocznikow Untitled from Fotorzezby (Photosculptures) 1971/2007 Gelatin silver prints on baryte paper. Sheet: 9 7/16 x 11 13/16 in. (24 x 30 cm). Portfolio: 13 1/8 x 10 9/16 x 1 3/16 in. (33.3 x 26.8 x 3 cm). Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Purchased with funds provide by the Helga K. And Walter Oppenheimer Acquisition Fund. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.; The artist with her work Naga (Naked), 1961. The Alina Szapocznikow Archive/Piotr Stanislawski/National Museum in Kraków. Photo by Marek Holzman, courtesy the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw.

Alina Szapocznikow: Sculpture Undone, 1955–1972 is the first museum survey in the United States devoted to this Polish artist. The exhibition brings to light the extraordinary oeuvre of Alina Szapocznikow, one of the most significant yet lesser known sculptors of the 20th century. At the core of Szapocznikow’s art is the ephemeral condition of life and the human body. Her work oscillates between permanence and impermanence, from carvings in Carrara marble to the precarious assemblages of lips and breasts cast in polyester resin. The exhibition includes approximately 60 sculptures and 50 works on paper, as well as a poignant group of photographic works, demonstrating the tremendous range and scope of Alina Szapocznikow’s art.

Alina Szapocznikow: Sculpture Undone, 1955–1972 is organized by WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels, and the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, in collaboration with the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The exhibition is curated by Elena Filipovic and Joanna Mytkowska. The Hammer Museum’s presentation is organized by Allegra Pesenti, Curator, Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts.

This exhibition and the accompanying catalogue are generously supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

The Hammer Museum’s presentation is made possible through major gifts from Erika Glazer and Alice and Nahum Lainer. Generous support is also provided by Herta and Paul Amir. The exhibition is made possible by additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Rosette V. Delug, Alisa and Kevin Ratner, The Audrey & Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation, and the Consulate General of Poland, Los Angeles.