Human Concretion
Artist
Jean Arp
(French, 1886 - 1966)
CultureFrench
Date1934
MediumMarble
Dimensions13 1/4 x 16 x 15 1/2 in. (33.7 x 40.6 x 39.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.3208
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 223
Label TextJean Arp French, 1886–1966 Human Concretion, 1934 Marble …the teachers seemed determined to spoil the visible and invisible world for me. They kept trying to make me copy, imitate. —Jean Arp Numbed by classical art training, which focused on the “everlasting copying of stuffed birds and withered flowers,” Jean Arp turned to nature itself, finding artistic inspiration “in seeds, stars, clouds, plants, animals, men.” He reduced these natural forms to their essential shapes and infused them with a kind of primal energy. With its smoothly lobed surfaces, Human Concretion seems strangely animate, a solid piece of stone that is somehow alive. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.3208 Exhibition History"The Nature of Arp: Sculptures, Reliefs, and Works on Paper," Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas, September 8, 2018 - January 6, 2019 and Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy, April 12 - September 2, 2019.Published ReferencesCatherine Craft, _The Nature of Arp_, (Dallas: Nasher Sculpture Center, 2018): cat. 44.
early 20th century
