Deeply influenced by his time studying in Paris in the early 1950's Ralph Brown & The Figure in the Fifties and Sixties casts a new light on Brown's powerful approach to the figure, re-examining it within the context of Modern British and European figurative sculpture including works by Marino Marini, Germaine Richier and Henry Moore.
Working in the studio of Ossip Zadkine, Brown became fully immersed in Paris' thriving sculpture scene, meeting many artists including Alberto Giacometti who was installing his first show at Galerie Maeght. The seminal moment during this period was seeing Germaine Richier’s L’Orage (Storm Man), 1947-8 which Brown documents in his notebooks from the time and in later written recollections saying: “At Musee D’Art Modernes I saw Richier’s ‘L’Orage’ which quite bowled me over, astounded me”. Later Brown met Richier in person and wished that he had worked for her rather than for Zadkine. Ralph Brown’s experience in Paris was profoundly important, influencing his entire career and his approach to the figure.
The exhibition also included works by:
