"The more I work, the more I see things differently, that is everything gains grandeur every day, and becomes more and more unknown, and more and more beautiful." - Alberto Giacometti.
There is a beautiful display installed in the Tanks at Tate Modern in which the spindly, spot-lit sculptures of Alberto Giacometti quietly loom out of the darkness at visitors. It is a particularly intimate, atmospheric and dramatic display in which the low light serves to highlight the form and structure of Giacometti's highly personal style of sculpture. The display includes many of Giacometti's later works of elongated figures and portrait busts which have surfaces that are scarred and mutilated, evoking sensations of anxiety and isolation. Giacometti's earlier work is also represented too with a piece from the Hour of the Traces series in which the sculptures are created from abstract shapes that reference the human body or certain body parts. He created these sculptures from images seen in his mind's eye rather than from direct observation of the human body. It is well worth seeking out this beautifully curated free display whilst visiting Tate Modern's current run of paid exhibitions.
Alberto Giacometti: The Tanks
SE1
