PARIS.- PhillipsX announced Modeler le papier // Shapes on paper, a selling exhibition focused on drawings, studies, and works on paper by leading sculptors of the 20th and 21st centuries. From Alexander Calder to Bernar Venet, and Henry Moore to Anish Kapoor, this exhibition will explore how artists who are renowned for working in three-dimensions have explored their work on paper. Including sketches, studies, gouaches and drawings, Modeler le papier // Shapes on paper takes a deep dive into the works on paper produced by acclaimed artists traditionally known for their sculptures and delves into the dialogues between their cross- disciplinary modes of expression. The selling exhibition is live online and will be on view in Phillips’ Paris galleries from 4 to 31 October.
Nathalie Zaquin-Boulakia, Regional Director, France and Senior International Specialist, 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Phillips, said “We are delighted to present our latest exhibition in Paris, Modeler le papier // Shapes on paper. These works enable us to contemplate the work of well-known sculptural artists in a different light and to consider their practices from an enlightening new perspective. By interrogating the relationship between two and three-dimensional forms within each artist’s oeuvre, we can better understand the depth and breadth of their respective practices. These intimate examples permit us a better glimpse into the minds of some of the most widely recognised and acclaimed sculptors of the 20th and 21st centuries. We are delighted to welcome fellow art enthusiasts and visitors to come and view these exceptional works in Paris this October.”
These works on paper, when compared with the lengthy process of sculpting, convey an immediacy that is not apparent in their sculptural counterparts. From intuitive, spontaneous sketches to more detailed, preparatory drawings and complete renderings, the works included in the exhibition present an illuminating new angle from which to consider the working practices of a diverse range of artists, prompting fresh comparisons and conversations that bring us closer to their creative and artistic mindsets.
The exhibition presents several works on paper by Alexander Calder. In addition to his renowned work as a sculptor, Calder also worked extensively on paper. Drawing upon his early career explorations into illustration and drawing, he created his first series of gouache paintings during his yearlong stay in Aix-en- Provence in 1953, and they would continue to form a significant contribution to his practice for the duration of his career. Included in this exhibition is Diluvial, an extraordinary example of one of these early gouaches from 1953. A further highlight of the exhibition is Calder’s Two Red Boomerangs. Appropriating and incorporating many of the familiar structural, and decorative motifs demonstrated in his sculptures, and executed in his signature, striking palette of black, white and primary colours – vermillion red and amber yellow - these playful, enigmatic works embody the essence of Calder’s practice in two-dimensional form.
A highlight of the exhibition is Alberto Giacometti’s Buste d’homme le bras gauche levé (recto) / Buste d’homme dans un cadre (verso). Executed in 1951, this double portrait demonstrates Giacometti’s commitment to exploring the representation of his subjects across different disciplines. His drawings, which were particularly prolific at this later period of his career, capture a particular transience. As with Giacometti’s acclaimed slender sculptural forms, the subjects of this work is drawn with thin, fluent lines which suggest a dreamlike sense of fleeting weightlessness.
Inspired by Giacometti and the Surrealist circle in Paris around 1930, Henry Moore also began to further develop his drawing practice. Often drawing from life, he was particularly interested in the human form in relation to the natural world. Moore was an exceptional draughtsman, handling shape and form with the same skill as he did in clay. He also worked much more quickly and fluidly on paper and throughout his career, Moore made over 7,000 drawings. He took inspiration from his lived experiences in urban surroundings and natural landscapes. Reminiscent of his haunting ‘Shelter Drawings’ created between 1940-41, following the devastating impacts of the second world war bombing in London, Odysseus in the Naiads' Cave (1944) depicts similar sculptural, reclining human forms entombed within enclosed spaces.
Further highlights of the exhibition include works on paper by Anish Kapoor, Marino Marini, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Julio González, Chiharu Shiota, Auguste Rodin, Anthony Gormley, Sol Lewitt, Nobuo Sekine, Aristide Maillol.
