Alicia Penalba | Formes volantes

In these mural sculptures, Penalba continues to explore the themes she first addressed in the late 1950s: how can one activate a space without completely taking it over? How can sculpture be placed in a dynamic relationship with the viewer’s perception and body? The mural sculptures extend these central reflections in Penalba’s work, in which she transforms the wall into an active and dynamic space.

The works on display date primarily from the 1960s, a particularly significant period in the artist’s career, during which she won the sculpture prize at the São Paulo Biennial in 1961. These years mark the moment when Penalba opened up her forms to let light in, freeing the volumes from their weight and transforming the wall into a field of spatial expansion.

“For me, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the site and its atmosphere […] I designed highly lyrical forms to break away from the rather similar and symmetrical walls.”

Alicia Penalba