Suspension. A history of abstract hanging sculptures since 1918

Lectures Calder-Picasso. Matthieu Poirier analyzes the evolution of abstract sculpture right up to the present day.

On the occasion of the Calder-Picasso exhibition, Museo Picasso Málaga organized a series of lectures focused on specific aspects of the works of these creators.

Art historian Matthieu Poirier has a PhD from the Sorbonne University in Paris, where he has held a teaching position. He is professor of art history at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts de Paris-Cergy, and has curated numerous exhibitions, including Suspension (Palais d’Iéna), Dynamo (Grand Palais National Galleries), Hans Hartung (Perrotin, New York), Artur Lescher (Palais d’Iéna), Soto (Musée Soulages), Spectres (Hotel Roesler, Sao Paulo) and has been scientific adviser on exhibitions at Museo de Arte Moderno, Museo Reina Sofía, Louisiana Museum and Palais de Tokyo.

In his talk, Suspension. A history of abstract hanging sculpture since 1918, he analysed abstract sculpture from 1918 to today, from the unprecedented angle of aerial suspension. The range covers sculptures by Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and Alexander Rodchenko at the end of the 1910s, to Alexander Calder and Bruno Munari in the early 1930s, and Soto, François Morellet, Daniel Buren and Julio Le Parc in the 1950s, followed by Sol LeWitt, Robert Morris and, more recently Xavier Veilhan, Ernesto Neto and Haegue Yang. While many of these suspended works remain static, some are hung from the ceiling in such a way as to surrender them to the invisible forces of the air - a new modern aesthetic connected to dynamism and which questions traditional methods of presenting artworks.

The talk was given in French with simultaneous translation in Spanish.

Admission was free until all places were taken.

Audio available here: