Magdalena Abakanowicz

We authenticate, certify, issue certificates of authenticity (COA), appraise the value and broker the sale of sculptures by Magdalena ABAKANOWICZ.

Polish

Born in 1930, Warsaw, Poland.

Died in 2017, Warsaw, Poland, aged 87.

She spent most of her life in Poland, primarily in Warsaw. She also travelled widely and spent some time in other parts of Europe and the United States, where she exhibited her works.

Typical Subject Matter:

Magdalena Abakanowicz is best known for her sculptural works, particularly her large-scale installations that explore the themes of human identity, collective experience, and individual vulnerability. She often portrayed the human figure, focusing on anonymity and dehumanization, using abstracted or fragmented representations of the body.

Abakanowicz’s works frequently featured figures without faces or with abstracted features. She also worked extensively with natural forms, especially trees. Her sculptures often evoke themes of alienation, existentialism, and society’s impact on the individual.

Typical Style:

Abakanowicz is renowned for her mastery in textile-based sculpture. Her most iconic works, the Abakans, are large, flowing, and textured fabric pieces that combine elements of sculpture, weaving, and installation art. These works are often large, immersive pieces that create a tactile, dynamic experience for the viewer. Her style evolved from the more traditional woven fabric techniques to creating monumental, often abstract, human-like forms that blur the line between sculpture and installation.

Her sculptures are frequently made of assemblies of repeated forms, such as groups of faceless human figures, often cast in fiberglass or resin. The figures are typically abstracted or reduced to silhouettes, sometimes arranged in rows or groups to evoke a sense of mass, conformity, or mobility.

Abakanowicz’s textural approach to her sculptures is notable for its use of rough, organic surfaces. This tactile quality of her work evokes the fragility of the human body, as well as its strength and resilience.

Typical Material and Media:

Abakanowicz initially gained recognition for her innovative use of textiles, particularly her woven sculptures made of natural fibres, which she referred to as Abakans. Over time, she expanded her media to include fiberglass, resin, and bronze, especially for her figural works.

For her large-scale sculptures, Abakanowicz often used fiberglass and resin, which allowed her to create hollow, lightweight figures with a rough, tactile finish. Her textile works, like the Abakans, were typically made from woven jute, sisal, and other natural fibres, which gave them a rich, organic texture. She also worked with wood, steel, and stone for some of her larger installations.

As such, while much of her earlier work involved fabric and weaving, Abakanowicz later focused on casting techniques and sculptural materials.

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