Abstract Art in Sculpture

1. Abstract Art
Manami Ishimura

2. What is Abstract Art?
• Abstract Art is art that does not attempt to represent an accurate
depiction of a visual reality but instead use shapes, forms and
gestural marks to achieve its effect.
• Abstract art is often carrying a moral dimension, in that it can be seen
to stand for virtues such as order, purity, simplicity, and spirituality.
• Since the early 1900s, abstract art has formed a central stream of
modern art.
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/abstract-art

3. Order
An American Tribute to the British People, Louise Nevelson, Painted Wood, 1960-4
Louise Nevelson
Best known for her room-sized wood sculptures,
the production of Louise Nevelson was
associated with various movements such as
Abstract Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism.
Using discarded wooden objects gathered from
urban debris piles, her monumental
assemblages involved a process influenced by
the concept of the readymades. Purposefully
selected for their evocative potential to call to
mind the forms of the city, nature and the
celestial bodies, these wooden objects were
subsequently carefully arranged to create
original narratives. Mostly monochromatic and
black, with occasional departures into white and
gold, these pieces reflected her personal
story of dislocation and self-invention. During
her later period, she also explored industrial
materials such as plexiglass, aluminum, and
steel. Working in a male-dominated
environment, her innovative pieces inspired
many generations of installation and feminist
authors.

4. Order
Early One Morning, Anthony Caro, 1962
Anthony Caro
A key figure in contemporary sculpture for half a
century, Anthony Caro explored all the possibilities
of three-dimensional abstraction. Using a variety of
materials from wood to rope, he created
monumental pieces that were architectural in both
form and scale. Though some of his work adheres
to a rigid, rational geometry, his characteristic
sculptures suggest lyrical movement, apparent
weightlessness, improvisation, and
chance. Breaking new ground with abstract works
in metal, his sculptures were displayed without
plinths, directly on the floor. The omission of the
pedestal was a radical shift at the time, changing
the dynamics between art and the viewer. Caro’s
constant reinvention of the language of abstract
sculpture distinguished him as an innovative
artist who consistently defied convention. He was
described as Britain’s finest sculptor since Henry
Moore.

5. Order
1392 ArtWork, Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder
A father of mobiles, Alexander Calder completely
changed the course of modern art. His kinetic
sculptures were made out of flat metal pieces
connected by a wire that moved delicately in the
air. Named “mobiles” by his friend Marcel
Duchamp, his pieces were initially powered
by small motors. Later relying only on slight air
currents, mobiles were randomly arranged and
rearranged in space by chance. Embodying the
notion of the movement, mobiles also invited the
viewer to interact with them. He also created
static pieces that he described as “stables” -
sculptures that reintroduced color to outdoor
works and championed tools and materials of the
modern age.

6. Purity
The Family of Man, Barbara Hepworth
More Info: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbara-Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Distinguishing herself as a world-recognized sculptor in
a period where female authors were rare, Barbara
Hepworth was a pioneer of abstract sculpture. Best
known for her biomorphic creations carved out of
stone, she was inspired by her childhood fascination
with organic systems and textures. With a complex and
multi-faceted sculptural vocabulary and ideas, she
combined a wide range of physical materials showing
an unprecedented sensitivity to their qualities.
Investigation the absence in sculpture as much as the
presence, she reflected the relationship
between volume and space. Her abstract works were
often created with hollow interior spaces that disrupt
smooth surface textures. Over the course of her career,
she moved from sculpting biomorphic forms to pure
abstraction. Combining clean lines of modernist
aesthetics with more complicated textures, her work
was described as sensuous and tactile.

7. Purity
The Cells, Louise Bourgeois
Louise Bourgeois
French-born American sculptor, painter, and printmaker, Louise
Bourgeois was the founder of confessional art. Initially
associated with Surrealism, she often integrated fantastic
elements into her art. After focusing on biomorphic forms, she
started creating sculpture influenced largely by traumatic
psychological events from her childhood, especially her father’s
infidelity. Revolving around themes of unconscious, sexuality and
the body, her pieces were often brooding and sexually explicit in
their subject matter. Her sculptural vocabulary was highly
personal and symbolized the feminine psyche, beauty, and
psychological pain. Her work adopted objects such as spirals,
spiders, cages or medical tools. Her exploration of femininity
and masculinity has influenced many authors since the 1970s,
especially feminist-inspired body and installation artists.

8. Simplicity
The Endless Column, Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brancusi
A seminal sculptor of the twentieth century, Constantin
Brâncusi blended modernity and timelessness with his
sculptures that exemplify ideal and archetypical
representations of their subject matter. With simple and
reduced forms and sleek appearance, his visionary
sculptures aimed to reveal hidden truths. He wrote that
the artist ‘should know how to dig out the being that is
within matter’. Pioneering the technique of direct
carving, he paid close attention to his mediums. Mainly
working with marble, stone, bronze, wood and
metal, he polished his finished pieces for days to create a
look ‘as though they proceeded out from the mass into
some perfect and complete existence.’ Always insisting on
representational nature of his subject, Brancusi's work
was largely influenced by myths, folklore, and "primitive"
cultures.

9. Simplicity
Herbert Foundation, Sol LeWitt
Sol LeWitt
Having a leading role in both Minimalism
and Conceptual art, Sol LeWitt is known for
his geometrical sculptures, but also wall drawings,
structures, painting and conceptual pieces. Establishing
an original radical aesthetics of the 1960s, he believed
that the idea or concept are the most important aspect
of the work. Placing a great emphasis on concepts and
systems and reducing art production to its essentials,
he used simplified shapes applied to his own formulae
resembling mathematical equations. Often providing an
assistant or a group of assistants with vague direction
for producing the work of art he previously conceived,
he believed the end result should not be completely
controlled by the artist challenging fundamental beliefs
about art. His emphasis was mostly on the process and
materials, rather than creating a specific narrative with
his work.

10. Simplicity
Liner Construction in Space No.1, Naum Gabo, 1943
Naum Gabo
The Constructive Russian artist Naum Gabo was a pioneer
of Kinetic Art. Publishing the Realist Manifesto of
Constructivism, Gabo and his brother Antoine Pevsner,
advocated that art had a value and function independent of
the state and that geometric principles should be the basis for
sculpture. Using transparent materials to define volumes of
empty space, he broke solids into interlocking planes, lines,
and geometric shapes. As space and time were his basic
elements, he wrote that ‘space and time are the only forms on
which life is built, and hence art must be constructed’. He
mostly used glass, metal, and plastic to create his abstract and
architectural pieces. His transformative approach to sculpture
and a visual language coincided with society and humanity.

11. Spirituality
Back to a Land, Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Often regarded as the father of modern British
sculpture, Henry Moore was best known for his
semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures
located all around the world as public works of
art. Inspired by leading modernists such as
Picasso, Arp, Brancusi and Giacometti, his style
was also influenced by Classical, Pre-Columbian
and African Art and Surrealism. His recurring
motifs were the mother and child and the
reclining figure. Being fascinated with
landscape and nature, he drew analogies
between the human body and the landscape
through the use of abstract forms. Using the
technique of direct carving, he mainly focused
on materials such as stone and wood. As he
once stated, it is important that a sculptor ‘gets
the solid shape, as it were, inside his head… he
identifies himself with its center of gravity.’

12. Spirituality
Torso, Jean (Hans) Arp
Jean Arp
As a pioneer of abstract art, the practice of Jean Arp was
associated with Dada and Surrealism. Best-known for
his biomorphic sculptures made out of plaster, stone, and
bronze, he also expressed himself in paintings, drawings,
collages and poems. Characterized by wavy lines, he often
referred to his sculptures as the organic abstraction.
Although non-representational, his work was firmly rooted
in nature. Representing plants or human figures, his most
abstract compositions suggest organic elements.
Embracing chance and spontaneity as integral components
of his artistic practice, he minimized the intervention of the
conscious mind. He is regarded as one of the most versatile
sculptors of the beginning of the 20th century. His
biomorphic shapes inspired by nature hugely influenced
generations of authors working with abstraction.

13. Spirituality
Femme Leoni, Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti
Giacometti was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th
century. His work was particularly influenced by artistic styles
such as Cubism and Surrealism. Philosophical questions about
the human condition, as well as existential and
phenomenological debates played a significant role in his work.
Around 1935 he gave up on his Surrealist influences in order to
pursue a more deepened analysis of figurative compositions.