ART
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska |
Written 16 November |
Wednesday 24 June, 11:00Centre Pompidou, 75004 [map]Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
The chance to rediscover a young artist of genius who contributed to the revival of sculpture at the beginning of the 20th century and who fascinated the London art scene at the time of
Vorticism. The exhibition presents around twenty sculptures and forty drawings by French sculptor
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska.
From 1911 the young artist produced sculptures and models of portraits, nudes, animal subjects, decorative pieces and quasi-abstract works, applying an original synthesis between cubism and primitivism. In 1911, he settled in England between 1911 and 1914 and made a spectacular entrance on to London's avant-garde art scene. He advocated that sculpture should leave behind the highly finished, polished style of ancient Greece and embrace a more earthy direct carving, in which the tool marks are left visible on the final work as a fingerprint of the artist.
His creations are marked by the influence of
Rodin, from whom he takes the humanist vision and expressive modelling, then by his contact with
Jacob Epstein and
Constantin Brancusi, through which he became a supporter of direct carving.
From 1913, his active contribution to Vorticism, a British variant of Futurism, established him as an influential figure of this movement. Captivated by the exuberant personality and genius of Gaudier-Brzeska, the American poet Erza Pound, who then led the English art scene, dedicated a first monograph to him the day after his death, which read: "Gaudier is irreplaceable. Nobody has appeared capable of succeeding him…”
| What: | Henri Gaudier-Brzeska |
| When: | Wednesday 24 June, 11:00 |
| Where: | Centre Pompidou, Place Georges Pompidou 75004 [map] |
| Transport: | Rambuteau, Hôtel de Ville, Châtelet-Les Halles |
| Cost: | 8-12EUR |
| Phone: | 01 44 78 12 33 |
| Web: | www.centrepompidou.fr |
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