plaster sculptures

Provenance: The estate of the artist
Note 1: Born in Scotland to Italian parents, Paolozzi attended evening classes at the Edinburgh College of Art and studied at St. Martin’s School of Art, later transferring to London’s Slade School of Art, where he graduated in 1947. He moved to Paris for three years where he became involved in Dadaism and Surrealism. In 1950, Paolozzi returned to London, quickly becoming a leading member of the Independent Group. As a significant member of the Group, Paolozzi greatly influenced the development of Pop Art. He taught all over the world as guest professor and lecturer, and was knighted in 1988. Eduardo Paolozzi died in 2005.
Note 2 : Paolozzi began to make the quasi-cubist sculptures which were to figure among his signature works, in the 1970s. The plaster sculptures now offered for sale fit loosely into this aspect of his work, but were executed in the 1990’s. Paolozzi was particularly keen that plaster should achieve a higher status than had previously been the case and his works in the medium were often not cast in any other material. They were cast from a variety of sources, some being taken from the 'ready-mades' in his studio, while others were made to the artist's original, sometimes existing designs. There is a larger version of the Mondrian head in the National galleries of Scotland cast in Bronze and a similar work in Bronze conceived in 1993 sold in Christies on 21/10/21 for £56250 (Lot 154, The Molenick Collection) The Tate also have a version of the Mondrian Head which is cast in plaster. The Rabbit was among a number of small animal sculptures made specifically for the Arche Noah, (Noah's Ark), exhibition staged in Munich in 1990. In contrast heads were a constant in Paolozzi's work, from the 1950s onwards, and the large Cubist Head fits within a series made from the late 1980s into the 1990s. The Mondrian Head is clearly a comment upon the effects of technology upon our humanity. Perhaps the most personal of the plaster works here is the two clenched fists, which relates directly to those of Paolozzi's sculpture Daedalus, his body constructed from fragments on a Frankenstinian model. In Greek myth, Daedalus was the builder of the Cretan labyrinth and Paolozzi seems to have seen him as a kindred spirit and probably considered.