Birth anniversary of
Jean
Arp
(given name Hans Arp)
French Artist: sculptor, painter,
collagist, printmaker, constructivist
16 Sept 1886 born in Germany; d.
1966
Movements: Abstraction, Dada,
Surrealism, Constructivism, Biomorphism
Jean Arp Human Concretion
1935, plaster, 49.5 x 47.6 x
64.7 cm. MOMA
Jean Arp was born in Germany to a German
father and French mother. He studied and worked in France, Germany and
Switzerland. He was one of the founders
of the Dada movement in Zurich in a group that included Marcel Janco, Tristan
Tzara, and others. The Cabaret Voltaire which opened in 1916 became the center
of Dada activities for this group.
In the 1920s Jean Arp painted wooden
wall relief and by the 1930s he shifted to making sculptures in the round, in
wood and plaster, the initial forms being human torsos. Gradually he gravitated
towards biomorphic forms originating from concepts of metamorphosis and growth.
Amoebic, rounded forms demonstrated fluidity and ambiguity
An interesting oeuvre was a series
of small works which encouraged interaction by the viewers, whereby they could
separate and rearrange the formations to their liking.
Jean Arp in his studio 1950s. Photo by Ida Kar
Jean Arp Forest
1916, painted wood
relief. 32.7 x 19.7 x 7.6 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington
Jean Arp Head
and Shell (Tête
et coquille)
ca. 1933. Polished
brass, 19.7 x 22.5 cm. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation,
Peggy Guggenheim
Collection
Jean Arp Growth
1938. Marble, 80.3 cm
high. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Jean Arp The Navel Bottle (Die Nabelflasche)
plate 4 from portfolio of seven
lithographs. Edition of 50, 1923
composition (irreg.): 41.6 x
24.8 cm; sheet: 45.1 x 34.9 cm.
Publisher: Merzverlag(Kurt Schwitters),
Hannover, Germany. Printer: A. Molling &
Comp., Hannover, Germany probably. Edition of 50. MOMA
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