NEW YORK, Jan 6, 2014/ — Beginning 15 January, Hauser & Wirth will present its first New York exhibition devoted to the late sculptor Hans Josephsohn (1920 – 2012), with the opening reception to be held at 6-8 PM on the same day.
‘Josephsohn’
15 January – 22 February 2014
Hauser & Wirth
32 East 69th Street, New York
For over six decades, the German-born Swiss artist devoted his practice to the enduring theme of the human figure, which he explored in standing, sitting, and reclining figures, as well as half-figures, heads, torsos, and reliefs.
Josephsohn’s highly personal artistic language – the distinctive weight, mass, and force he achieved through a bold, immediate, and highly physical way of working – conveys deep understanding of both classical sculpture and Modernist principles.
From slim abstracted forms reminiscent of ancient steles, to rough-hewn figures cast in bronze and left unpainted, the artist’s output reveals a continuous search to reinvent and express the fundamental humanity of the individual and to summon the presence of a person.
‘Josephsohn’ will remain on view at Hauser & Wirth East 69th Street gallery through 22 February 2014 and will include works dating from the 1950s until the artist’s death in 2012.
Throughout his entire career, Josephsohn explored the formation and reduction of the body as a gradual and continuous process that evolves and develops. Adding and subtracting layer upon layer of plaster, the artist built his figures slowly.
With his bare hands, Josephsohn slathered and spread the malleable material onto his casts. Then, employing the aid of a chisel or hammer, he would knock away fragments to create form. Adding small pieces, repairing work, and cutting away at the jaggedness of hard lumps, Josephsohn played with the diverse richness and possibilities that various parts of the body offered.
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