VANCOUVER, BC.- Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz recently unveiled the installation of Vancouver Ancestors, her latest work consisting of twenty iron cast, 9 foot tall headless figures. Created specifically for the 2005/2006 Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, Vancouver Ancestors will be the 21st of 23 sculpture installations for the eighteen-month event.

Born in 1930 to an aristocratic family in Poland, Abakanowicz endured the war torn years of WWII and the proceeding decades of political unrest in Poland under Communist rule. Her personal experiences have greatly informed her work. She has focused on the human figure, and the transformation of an individual in a crowd. She has produced work using a wide range of materials, from the fragile and perishable to hard-wearing stone and bronze.

Abakanowicz has a lengthy exhibition history that spans from 1962 to the present. Her large scale figurative sculptures are internationally located in public and private collections and permanent outdoor installations, including the Georges Pompidou Centre, Paris, France; Caracas Museum of Modern Art, Caracas, Venezuela; the Museum of Modern Art, Shiga, Japan; the Center for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland; and the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden, Washington, D. C., USA. Her most recent urban installation is the City of Chicago commissioned Millennium Park project Agora: 100 iron cast figures to be installed in a three acre area of Grant Park in October 2006, a new concert venue designed by the iconic architect Frank Gehry. Considered a national living treasure in her own country, Abakanowicz was awarded the prestigious International Sculpture Center’s Lifetime AchievementAward (2005) at the age of 74.The Biennale continues to focus the eyes of the world upon us. The Biennale, continuing until April 2007, is accessible 24/7, 365 days per year and is free for all to enjoy.