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Jean Arp Abstract Sculptures

French, 1886-1966

Jean Arp was born Hans Arp on September 16, 1886, in Strasbourg. In 1904, after leaving the École des Arts et Métiers, Strasbourg, he visited Paris and published his poetry for the first time. From 1905–07, Arp studied at the Kunstschule, Weimar and in 1908 went to Paris, where he attended the Académie Julian. In 1909, he moved to Switzerland and in 1911 was a founder of the Moderner Bund group there. The following year, he met Robert and Sonia Delaunay in Paris and Wassily Kandinsky in Munich. 

Arp participated in the Erste Deutsche Herbstsalon in 1913 at the gallery Der Sturm, Berlin. After returning to Paris in 1914, he became acquainted with Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Jacob, Amedeo Modigliani and Pablo Picasso. In 1915, he moved to Zurich, where he executed collages and tapestries, often in collaboration with his future wife Sophie Taeuber (who became known as Sophie Taeuber-Arp after they married in 1922). 

In 1916, Hugo Ball opened the Cabaret Voltaire, which was to become the center of Dada activities in Zurich for a group that included Arp, Marcel Janco, Tristan Tzara, and others. Arp continued his involvement with Dada after moving to Cologne in 1919. In 1922, he participated in the Kongress der Konstruktivisten in Weimar and the Exposition Internationale Dada at Galerie Montaigne in Paris. Soon thereafter, he began contributing to magazines such as Merz, Mécano, De Stijl and later, to La Révolution surréaliste.

Arp’s work appeared in the first exhibition of the Surrealist group at the Galerie Pierre, Paris in 1925. In 1926, he settled in Meudon, France. In 1931, Arp was associated with the Paris based group Abstraction-Création and the periodical transition. Throughout the 1930s and until the end of his life, he continued to write and publish poetry and essays. In 1942, he fled Meudon for Zurich after which he was to make Meudon his primary residence again in 1946. The artist visited New York in 1949 on the occasion of his solo show at Curt Valentin’s Buchholz Gallery. In 1950, he was invited to execute a relief for the Harvard Graduate Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1954, Arp received the Grand Prize for Sculpture at the Venice Biennale. A retrospective of his work was held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1958, followed by another at the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris in 1962. Arp died on June 7, 1966, in Basel.

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Artist: Jean Arp
Chateau des Oiseaux
By Jean Arp
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Jean Arp Château des Oiseaux Bronze Signed "Arp" Edition 5/5 Provenance: Sidney Janis Gallery, New York Conceived in 1963, cast in bronze in an edition of 5 between 1967 and 1969. J...
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1960s Abstract Jean Arp Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Masque Oiseau
By Jean Arp
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Jean Arp, also known as Hans Arp (1886-1966), was an important contributor to the avant-garde movements of the 20th century. Arp was active during the crucial years that shaped Europ...
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1960s Abstract Geometric Jean Arp Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

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Sterling silver pendant or brooch (it is designed to be worn either way) biomorphic, abstract form set with a buff colored river pebble. Designed by Jean Hans Arp and fabricated by Johanaan Peter of the Ein Hod artists village (founded by Dada artist Marcel Janco) from the limited edition of 100. Hallmark: stamped on the reverse: PETER EIN-HOD, MADE IN ISRAEL, ST925 DESIGN BY Arp, 55/100 Jean Arp or Hans Arp (16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966) was a German-French sculptor, painter, poet, and abstract artist in other media such as torn and collage pasted paper. Arp was born in Strasbourg, the son of a French mother and a German father, during the period following the Franco-Prussian War when the area was known as Alsace-Lorraine (Elsass-Lothringen in German) after France had ceded it to Germany in 1871. Following the return of Alsace to France at the end of World War I, French law determined that his name become "Jean". Arp would continue referring to himself as "Hans" when he spoke German. In 1904, after leaving the École des Arts et Métiers in Strasbourg, he went to Paris where he published his poetry for the first time. From 1905 to 1907, Arp studied at the Kunstschule in Weimar, Germany, and in 1908 went back to Paris, where he attended the Académie Julian. Arp was a founder-member of the Moderne Bund in Lucerne, participating in their exhibitions from 1911 to 1913. In 1912, he went to Munich, called on Wassily Kandinsky, the influential Russian painter and art theorist, was encouraged by him in his researches and exhibited with the Der Blaue Reiter group. Later that year, he took part in a major exhibition in Zürich, along with Henri Matisse, Robert Delaunay and Kandinsky. In Berlin in 1913, he was taken up by Herwarth Walden, the dealer and magazine editor who was at that time one of the most powerful figures in the European avant-garde. In 1915, he moved to Switzerland to take advantage of Swiss neutrality. In 1916, Hugo Ball opened the Cabaret Voltaire, which was to become the center of Dada activities in Zurich for a group that included Arp, Marcel Janco, Tristan Tzara, and others. In 1920, as Hans Arp, along with Max Ernst and the social activist Alfred Grünwald, he set up the Cologne Dada group. However, in 1925, his work also appeared in the first exhibition of the surrealist group at the Galérie Pierre in Paris. In 1926, Arp moved to the Paris suburb of Meudon. In 1931, he broke with the Surrealist movement to found Abstraction-Création, working with the Paris-based group Abstraction-Création and the periodical, Transition. Beginning in the 1930s, the artist expanded his efforts from collage and bas-relief to include bronze and stone sculptures. He produced several small works made of multiple elements that the viewer could pick up, separate, and rearrange into new configurations. Throughout the 1930s and until the end of his life, he wrote and published essays and poetry. In 1942, he fled from his home in Meudon to escape German occupation and lived in Zürich until the war ended. Arp visited New York City in 1949 for a solo exhibition at the Buchholz Gallery. In 1950, he was invited to execute a relief for the Harvard University Graduate Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts and would also be commissioned to do a mural at the UNESCO building in Paris. In 1958, a retrospective of Arp's work was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, followed by an exhibition at the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, France, in 1962. Organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Wurttembergischer Kunstverein of Stuttgart, a 150-piece exhibition titled "The Universe of Jean Arp" concluded an international six-city tour at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1986. The Musée d'art moderne et contemporain of Strasbourg houses many of his paintings and sculptures. Arp's career was distinguished with many awards including the Grand Prize for sculpture at the 1954 Venice Biennale, a sculpture prizes at the 1964 Pittsburgh International, the 1963 Grand Prix National des Arts, the 1964 Carnegie Prize, the 1965 Goethe Prize from the University of Hamburg, and then the Order of Merit with a Star of the German Republic. Arp and his first wife, the artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp, became French nationals in 1926. In the 1930s, they bought a piece of land in Clamart and built a house at the edge of a forest. Influenced by the Bauhaus, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand, Taeuber designed it. She died in Zürich in 1943. After living in Zürich, Arp was to make Meudon his primary residence again in 1946. Arp married the collector Marguerite Hagenbach (1902–1994), his long-time companion, in 1959. He died in 1966, in Basel, Switzerland. The worlds of fashion, design, and art have long overlapped. The Surrealists were particularly keen on blurring the lines separating the creative fields, as a number of Surrealist artists dabbled in fashion and design, creating functional and wearable art. For example, Elsa Schiaparelli daring clothing designs were developed in collaboration with Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau, and several other prominent Surrealist artists contributed to the fashion industry of their day. This is from the period of the wearable art movement when artists like Alexander Calder, Ibram Lassaw and Clare Falkenstein amongst many others were turning to jewelry as an expressive medium for their art. Exhibited: International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery 1890-1961, The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London 1961 (no. 21, another example); International Ausstellung Schmuck, Jewellery, Bijoux, Hessischer Landesmuseum in Darmstadt, Darmstadt 1964 (no. 2, another example); Jewelry by Contemporary Painters and Sculptors, Museum of Modern Art, New York 1967 (no. 3, another example); Private Passion. Artists Jewelry of the 20th Century, Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch 2009 (no. 25 from the edition) Literature: Jewelry by Contemporary Painters and Sculptors. R.S. Neu. 1967. #3.Martine Newby Haspeslagh, Sculpture to Wear. Jewellery by Post-War Painters and Sculptors, Didier Ltd...
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Etoile
Etoile
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"Torso-Profile"
By Jean Arp
Located in Berlin, DE
Polished brass figure by Jean (Hans) Arp (1886-1966). 1958. Edition of 10 pieces.Signed: ARP and numbered: 1/10. Dimensions: height: 3.94 in ( 10 cm ), width: 2.76 in ( 7 cm ), dept...
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Jean Arp abstract sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Jean Arp abstract sculptures available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Jean Arp in metal, brass, bronze and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Jean Arp abstract sculptures, so small editions measuring 6 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Émile Gilioli, Perrin & Perrin, and L.G.. Jean Arp abstract sculptures prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,500 and tops out at $495,000, while the average work can sell for $3,000.
Questions About Jean Arp Abstract Sculptures
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Jean Arp believed that the natural world was governed by logic and chaos and that attempts to regulate or control societies were ridiculous because of that. His Dadaist sculptures seek to communicate these beliefs. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of Jean Arp art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Jean Arp is a German-French sculptor and painter known as Hans Arp in German-speaking countries. Arp is best known for his sculptures, which were characterized by smoothly rounded forms. Shop a collection of vintage and modern Jean Arp pieces on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertOctober 15, 2024
    Yes, Jean Arp was a Surrealist artist. His work actually appeared in the first exhibition of the Surrealist group at the Galerie Pierre in Paris in 1925. The German-French sculptor, painter and poet was also associated with Dadaism. Some of his most famous works include Danger of Death, Human Concretion and Torn-Up Woodcut. On 1stDibs, find a variety of Jean Arp art.

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