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Museum of Modern Art opens Alina Szapocznikow Sculpture Undone 1955–1972

Museum of Modern Art presents Alina Szapocznikow Sculpture Undone, 1955–1972, an exhibition on view October 07, 2012–January 28, 20132.


Alina Szapocznikow (Polish, 1926-1973). Ventres – coussins (Belly cushions), 1968. Polyurethane foam. Five pieces, each 5 1/8 – 7 x 11 13/16 x 13 3/8” (13-17.8 x 30 x 34 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Promised gift of Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis. © The Estate of Alina Szapocznikow/Piotr Stanisławski/ADAGP, Paris

lina Szapocznikow: Sculpture Undone, 1955–1972, is the first large-scale survey of the artist’s work in the United States, bringing together over 100 works including sculpture, drawings, photography, and archival and documentary material, drawing on loans from private and public collections, including major institutions in Poland. A sculptor who began working during the postwar period in a classical figurative style, Szapocznikow (Polish, 1926-1973) radically reconceptualized sculpture as an imprint not only of memory but also of her own body. Though her career effectively spanned less than two decades (cut short by the artist’s premature death in 1973 at age 47), the artist explored a wide range of sculptural approaches and left behind a legacy of provocative objects that evoke Surrealism, Nouveau Réalisme, and Pop art. The radical innovation of her practice and the way her work continues to speak with urgency merits art historical reexamination.

The exhibition is organized by WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels, and the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, in collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Alina Szapocznikow: Sculpture Undone, 1955–1972, is curated by Elena Filipovic and Joanna Mytkowska. MoMA’s presentation is organized by Connie Butler, The Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings.

The exhibition is made possible by MoMA’s Wallis Annenberg Fund for Innovation in Contemporary Art through the Annenberg Foundation. – www.moma.org