Alina Szapocznikow. Body Languages
Alina Szapocznikow
Curated by: Commissariat : Ute Stuffer, Ursula Ströbele

The solo exhibition by the Polish female sculptor Alina Szapocznikow (1926 Kalisz, PL –1973 Paris, FR) conveys insights into the oeuvre of one of the most outstanding female artists of the twentieth century who, in spite of her innovative creations, achieved international recognition only at a late date. The central focus of Szapocznikow’s sculptural and graphic works is on the human body which serves as the basis for her uncompromising thematization of the fragility of existence, the fickleness of the body, and the paradoxes of life. In her tireless investigation of unconventional sculptural practices and materials, she numbers among the extremely fascinating female artists who revolutionized the traditional concept of sculpture.

“Body Languages” brings together more than eighty sculptural and graphic works; it extends an arc from the mid-1950s until shortly before Szapocznikow’s early death at the age of forty-seven. In less than two decades, the Holocaust survivor created a sensual-disquieting and humorous-provocative oeuvre. While still in Poland, she begins as an established, figurative female sculptor to deconstruct the integrity of the human figure. In Paris during the 1960s, she experiments with new, industrial materials such as polyurethane and polyester. She produces serial casts of sensitive body zones, most frequently her own—such as lips, breasts, or stomachs—which she transforms into eccentric sculptures. Szapocznikow’s oeuvre oscillates between vitality and decay, brings together the entire spectrum of life, and remains just as visionary today as it was at the time of its creation.

Curator Ute Stuffer, Co-Curator Prof. Dr. Ursula Ströbele. A comprehensive catalogue will be published by the Verlag für moderne Kunst. A collaboration between the Kunstmuseum Ravensburg and the Musée de Grenoble.

www.kunstmuseum-ravensburg.de