Violoncelle dans l'espace [Cello in Space] 1967 - 1968

Arman (Armand Fernandez)

This work was made by pouring resin into a flat box, to the depth of about a centimetre, and inserting elements of the cello. Once set, another layer of resin could be poured, and more of the pieces added. The final work is like a cello frozen in space a fraction of a second after it has exploded. The sculpture is a development from the artist's 'Happenings', when he would smash up pianos, cars and even whole rooms. Arman attached the broken remains to panels but, from 1962, he began setting them in clear polyester resin, calling the series 'Colère' (Anger).

Details Accession no. GMA 2793 Medium Fragmented cello in polyester resin Size 127.90 x 48.60 x 14.60 cm Credit Purchased 1983

Arman (Armand Fernandez) (French / American, 1928 - 2005) Arman was born in Nice. He moved to Paris in 1949 and since the early 1960s has lived in New York. Early in his career, a catalogue misprint reduced his name to Arman, and he has worked under that name ever since. In the 1950s Arman made works on paper covered with the imprints of rubber stamps. These repeated patterns led, in 1959, to his 'Accumulations', in which dozens of manufactured objects were crammed into transparent plastic boxes. Arman later moved on to more ambitious projects, including a huge tower of sixty cars embedded in concrete, rising to a height of twenty metres.

Bron: nationalgalleries