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Maria Bartuszová at Tate Modern
Written by Caroline Wheaton
A very smooth, plaster shape was what enticed me to visit the exhibition of Maria Bartuszová’s work, part of Tate Modern’s current programme. A kind of smooth egg that just looked so tactile, I wanted to reach for the poster I was looking at.
Much of the work in the show is similarly appealing to the senses, be it in plaster, aluminium or bronze; the organic forms sometimes broken or bound, prodded and shaped. Her latter productions also incorporating natural objects such as stones and tree branches.
Born in Prague in 1936, her early sculptures were developed in the 1960’s and 70’s and were meant to evoke an emotional response. Shapes, often reminiscent of water droplets, seeds and cells, all bursting with life, were made using balloons inflated and coated with plaster. The objects were used in workshops for blind and partially-sighted children to encourage imaginative play; at that time, an innovative form of art therapy.
She took this “pneumatic shaping” technique (using the balloons and plaster) to another level in the 1980’s, allowing the balloons to burst, thus cracking and destroying parts of the cast to create broken egg-like forms. These she often layered one inside another, the outer shells fragile and vulnerable alone, but more voluminous once combined. She called them “endless eggs”.
Moving to Kosice, her new house, studio and garden gave her the chance to work in space and connect her work more easily with nature. This can be seen in her later works, photos within the displays highlighting the influence of rain, melting snow, trees and pebbles as she sought to reflect an interconnectedness between her art & nature.