Unknown, Mid Century Modern Brutalist Welded Expressionist Sculpture

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In this bronze sculpture the artist (unknown) has welded together a group of figures into a unified piece. These figures … Read more In this bronze sculpture the artist (unknown) has welded together a group of figures into a unified piece. These figures take on animal, and human characteristics, which is evident in the shape of their bodies and faces.
Neo-Dada Abstract Sculpture: Assemblages

In contrast, abstract sculpture followed a slightly different course. Rather than focusing on non-figurative subject matter, it concentrated on materials, hence the emergence of Assemblage Art - a form of three-dimensional visual art made from everyday objects, said to be 'found' by the artist (objets trouves). Popular in the 1950s and 1960s in America, assemblage effectively bridged the gap between collage and sculpture, while its use of non-art materials - a feature of Neo-Dada art - anticipated the use of mass-produced objects in Pop-Art. Assemblage sculpture is exemplified by the works of Louise Nevelson (1899-1988), such as Mirror Image 1 (1969, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston), and by Jean Dubuffet (1901-85) and his Monument with Standing Beast (1960, James R. Thompson Center, Chicago). The idiom was considerably boosted by an important exhibition -The Art of Assemblage - at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, in 1961.

Other examples of the Neo-Dadaist-style "junk art" include Hudson River Landscape (1951, Whitney Museum of American Art) and Australia (1951, MoMA, NY), both by David Smith (1906-1965); Untitled (wood, metal pieces, nails) (1960, Museum of Modern Art NYC) by Jesus Rafael Soto (b.1923); and certain "combines" by Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), such as First Landing Jump (made from: painting, cloth, metal, leather, electric fixture, cable, oil paint, board) (1961, MoMA, NY). Untitled (industrial felt) (1967, Kunsthalle, Hamburg) by Robert Morris (b.1931) is a further example of the use of unusual materials in sculpture, as is the minimalist Monument For Vladimir Tatlin (neon-lighting tubes) (1975, Musee National d'Art Moderne, George Pompidou Centre) by Dan Flavin (1933-96).

Dada also exalted nonsense-art, and what is more absurd than a sculpture that self-destructs? No doubt this was an important element in the philosophy behind the work of Jean Tinguely (1925-91), the unsurpassed master of self-destructing sculpture, whose masterpiece is generally reckoned to be Homage to New York (1960, Museum of Modern Art, New York).

An excellent example of abstract pop sculpture is the word art genre adopted by Robert Indiana (b.1928) in his series of LOVE sculptures.

Abstract Metal Sculpture (1960-onwards)

The 1960s also witnessed the beginning of a new broad tradition of metal sculpture, ranging from the portable to the monumental. Such works included: Sculpture For a Large Wall (1956-7, MoMA, NY) by Ellsworth Kelly (b.1923); Midday (1960, MoMA, NY) by Sir Anthony Caro (1924-2013); Die (1962, MoMA, NY) by Tony Smith (1912-1980); Broken Obelisk (1963-9, MoMA, NY) by Barnett Newman (1905-70); Storm Angel (1973-4, Square Chabas, Chalon-sur-Saone) by Mark Di Suvero (b.1933); and a number of works by Eduardo Chillida (1925-2002), culminating in his coastline sculpture Wind Comb (1977, Bay of San Sebastian, Spain). See less