Magdalena Abakanowicz

Bartelik, Marek, Artforum International

Vivid memories of World War II and four decades of communism inform the art of the Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz. The complexity of transforming autobiography into art was thoughtfully addressed in her two recent shows. At the Marlborough Gallery, her sculptures--scattered throughout the rooms and placed outside on the terrace--were drawn from Hand-like Trees, 1992--93, the series "Circus," 1992, the multiple-figured Puellae, 1992--93, and Infantes, 1992. But the monumental Embryology, 1978--81, first presented at the Venice Biennale in 1980, dominated the show. A morass of 600 hand-stitched elements made of burlap, cotton, gauze, hemp, nylon, and sisal, shaped like boulders, …

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Publication information: Article title: Magdalena Abakanowicz. Contributors: Bartelik, Marek - Author. Magazine title: Artforum International. Volume: 32. Issue: 3 Publication date: November 1993. Page number: 104+. © 1999 Artforum International Magazine, Inc. COPYRIGHT 1993 Gale Group.

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