Isabel Norsten
Specialist, Head of Sale
PROPERTY FROM A NOTABLE CALIFORNIA COLLECTION
Lot 155W
MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ(1930-2017)Figure on Beam with Wheels
15 May 2025, 14:00 EDT
New YorkUS$120,000 - US$180,000
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Contemporary Art (US)
Rachel Griffith
Sale Coordinator
MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ (1930-2017)
Figure on Beam with Wheels
burlap, resin and wood
83 7/8 x 94 1/2 x 24 3/8 in (213 x 240 x 62 cm)
Executed in 1992
burlap, resin and wood
83 7/8 x 94 1/2 x 24 3/8 in (213 x 240 x 62 cm)
Executed in 1992
Footnotes
This work will be included in the forthcoming Magdalena Abakanowicz Catalogue Raisonné being prepared by Dr. Jolanta Gola under number 918. We would like to thank Dr. Jolanta Gola and the Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz-Kosmowska and Jan Kosmowski Foundation for their assistance in cataloging this work.
Provenance
The artist
Marlborough Gallery Inc., New York.
Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Los Angeles.
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 1994.
Exhibited
Kraków, BWA, Magdalena Abakanowciz, January - February 1993.
New York, Marlborough Gallery Inc., Magdalena Abakanowicz, April 30 - June 5, 1993, no. 10, (illustrated p. 42)
San Diego, Mandeville Gallery, University of California, San Diego, Magdalena Abakanowicz: Recent Work and Arboreal Architecture, January 15 - February 17, 1994.
Literature
Ollman, Leah, "Tame Offering of a Powerful Artist's Work: UC San Diego exhibits only a small sample of the art of Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz," Los Angeles Times, January 22, 1994
Art has an extraordinary ability to reflect the intricacies of the human condition, and few artists explored this as profoundly as Magdalena Abakanowicz. Celebrated for her groundbreaking sculptures and installations, Abakanowicz's work offers insights into identity, vulnerability, and collective experience. Figure on Beam with Wheels stands as a compelling example of her artistic vision and philosophy.
Growing up in war-torn Poland during World War II, Abakanowicz developed a deep sensitivity to human suffering and resilience. This formative background shaped her unique perspective and distinct sculptural language, characterized by innovative materials and forms that evoke both fragility and strength.
Her Figure Beam series from the early 1990s evolved from her earlier Abakans—a series of large, organic hanging forms created in the 1960s—and the Alteration series from the 1970s, which marked her shift toward figuration. The Alteration works featured groups of genderless, hunched figures, often headless and armless, made from burlap and resin. The Figure Beam series merges the imposing presence of the Abakans with these figural elements. In the present work, like others from this body of work, the figure stands tall and poised on a wooden beam, symbolizing human endurance and vulnerability. These headless and armless figures can appear either alone or in pairs. Abakanowicz uses burlap and resin to create a texture that resembles human skin, giving her sculptures a primitive quality.
Burlap, a material linked to labor and tradition, embodies resilience, while its tactile quality invites a sensory engagement. The wooden beams, mounted on wheels, may allude to the dynamic relationship between humanity and nature. Each figure, unique yet connected, reflects the tension between individuality and collectivity—a central theme in her work.
Her work challenges traditional norms and has left a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire future generations, reinforcing the idea that art can touch upon the most profound aspects of the human experience. As we stand before the striking Figure on Beam with Wheels, we are invited to witness and participate in the ongoing conversation about what it means to be part of the human experience. Her recent retrospective at the Tate Modern in London powerfully reaffirmed her enduring relevance and highlighted the timeless relevance of her themes of resilience, identity, and collective experience.
