Magdalena Abakanowicz. Museum Bourdelle Paris
Magdalena Abakanowicz exhibition “The Thread of Existence” (fr. “La trame de l’existence”) at Musée Bourdelle in Paris highlights her later sculptural practice, particularly figures and crowds made from jute, resin, or composites that blur edges between body, memory, and material.
Across approximately 70–80 ensembles of works — textiles, sculptures, drawings, and photos — you discover how Abakanowicz’s practice consistently engaged with organic forms, materiality, and existential questions.
The title “Thread of Existence” reflects Magdalena Abakanowicz’s own view of material and life: she saw fabric as the basic structure (“trame”) of living organisms, comparable to the tissues of plants, leaves, and the human body. This metaphor underpins her artistic inquiry into how material, body, memory, and history interweave.
The show situates Magdalena Abakanowicz in the canon of great 20th-century sculptors, rather than limiting her to “textile art.”
Magdalena Abakanowicz work is deeply rooted in her life experience — war, repression under communism, and cultural upheaval in Poland — resonating with contemporary concerns like environmental crisis, humanism, and feminism.
Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930–2017) was a pioneer in bringing textile techniques into the realm of sculpture, influencing generations of artists worldwide. This Paris exhibition marks a major moment in recognizing her work — especially in a city central to modern art history.
