HANS ARP French-German, 1886-1966

Hans Arp (1886–1966) is regarded as one of the leading figures of Classical Modernism and as a pioneer of abstract art. A founding member of the Dada movement, he developed a multifaceted oeuvre encompassing sculpture, relief, collage, drawing, and poetry. His organic, biomorphic forms unite the principles of chance with a poetic conception of nature, growth, and transformation. Arp’s work moves between Dada, Surrealism, and organic abstraction, resisting any singular stylistic classification. His reduced formal vocabulary and his understanding of sculpture as a living, evolving organism exerted a lasting influence on the development of twentieth-century art. Works by Hans Arp are held in major international museum and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Tate, London, and the Centre Pompidou, Paris.