Alison Jacques presents a solo exhibition dedicated to seminal Brazilian artist Lygia Clark.
Alison Jacques presents Studio Origins by Brazilian artist Lygia Clark from 20th September to 26th October 2024. The exhibition Studio Origins runs concurrently to Clark’s first UK museum solo exhibition The I and the You, at Whitechapel Gallery, London (2 October 2024 – 12 January 2025).
Clark is regarded as a radical innovator who pushed the boundaries of what is considered art, fundamentally redefining the relationship between artist and viewer. As a leading figure of the Neo-Concrete movement, initiated in Rio de Janeiro in 1959, Clark understood art as an organic phenomenon. She demanded a subjective, body-related and sensual experience which encouraged viewer interaction.
Studio Origins comprises early works, often smaller scale, which function as studies and proposals for larger paintings and sculptures; many never exhibited before. All of these works were kept in Clark’s studio throughout her life, and this exhibition thereby acts as a comprehensive encyclopaedia of her thoughts and ideas, forming the foundations for all that she went on to create over her 40-year career.
A key part of the exhibition comprises a previously unexhibited series of gouaches from 1955 entitled Geometria Amorosa (Loving Geometry) which were painted proposals Clark made for ceiling murals. Only one, included in the exhibition, was actually realised, but this series indicates Clark’s strong interest in architecture. This is also illustrated in the modular matchbox constructions, made in 1964 in Paris, which the viewer could manipulate by pushing and pulling the drawers of the painted boxes. Other architecture projects, including maquettes for interiors and a photo collage for Clark’s monumental outdoor Bicho, are on view in the concurrent exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery.
Lygia Clark was the subject of a major USA retrospective at MoMA, New York (2014). In 2025, the first major European retrospective of Clark in over 30 years will open at the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (May 23 – 12 October 2025) touring to the Kunsthaus Zürich, where the show will be on view from autumn 2025 to spring 2026. Clark is represented is museum collections worldwide including Tate, London; MOMA, New York; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; MFA, Houston and The Art Institute of Chicago.
Lygia Clark: Studio Origins: 20 September – 26 October 2024
Venue: Alison Jacques, 22 Cork Street, London W1S 3NG
Opening Times:
Tuesday – Friday: 10.30am – 6pm
Saturday: 11am – 6pm
Further information: Lygia Clark: Studio Origins – Alison Jacques