Hans Josephsohn, ‘Untitled’, 2005

Hans Josephsohn, Untitled, 2005  

Brass. Edition 2 of 6, plus 2 AP. Presented by Galerie Max Hetzler and Skarstedt

About the Work

Untitled, 2005, is a large-scale brass sculpture from Hans Josephsohn’s body of reclining figures. Portraying a female nude whose dynamic surface contracts with its static posture, Untitled invites the viewer to analyze the lines of the character alongside the subject’s seemingly abstract anatomy. 

Throughout his life, Josephsohn sought to represent human corporeality through sculpture. Modelled in clay then cast in brass, his works, like stelae, reveal complex surfaces which bear traces of the artist’s hands. As exemplified in Untitled, flat planes meld into rough-hewn forms, and contours shin from jagged to smooth. Self-categorized into standing, seated and reclining figures, as well as half-figures, heads and reliefs, Josephsohn’s sculptures convey a feeling of immutability, characterized by volume, weight and raw surfaces. 

From the beginning, Josephsohn’s artistic study of humanity was influenced by his experience of the world and shaped by the relationships he had with many of his models, most of whom were women, including partners and friends. Ambiguous in their volatility, his sculptures do not seek to represent human physicality through portraiture, but rather touch upon the inherent experience of the body as an entity that is at once tangible and transient. ‘Each of Josephsohn’s sculptures,’ writes Joe Fyfe, ‘has the presence of a living thing, yet they remain unknowable.’ Indeed, appearing simultaneously weighty and transmutable, Untitled seems to move between representation and abstraction. Composed on a horizontal field, the voluptuous curves of the reclining female nude are charged with a haptlc and sensual allure.

About the Artist

Hans Josephsohn’s (b. 1920, Kaliningrad; d. 2012, Zürich) was a visionary artist whose work revolutionized the definition of sculpture and its methods. He moulded his works through direct interaction with their surfaces, which bear traces of the artist’s hands. Recent museum exhibitions include ‘Hans Josephsohn’, MASI Lugano (2020–2021); ‘Schauen ist das Wichtigste’, Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen (2020); and ‘Hans Josephsohn’, ICA Milan (2019). In 2013, the artist's work was presented at the 55th Venice Biennale. In October 2024, his sculptures will be on view at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris in the first retrospective in France dedicated to Josephsohn, curated by Albert Oehlen.  

Josephsohn’s work can be found in the collections of Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau; Kunsthaus Zürich; Kunstmuseum St. Gallen; Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen; MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main; Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and KOLUMBA Art Museum of the Archdiocese of Cologne.

Frieze Sculpture is in The Regent’s Park, 18 September – 27 October 2024. No booking required, free to all. 

explore frieze sculpture

Further Information 

Frieze Sculpture runs alongside Frieze London and Frieze Masters, 9 – 13 October.

Tickets to the fairs are on sale – buy yours now. Alternatively, become a member to enjoy premier access, exclusive guided tours and more.

BUY NOW

To keep up to date on all the latest news from Frieze, sign up to the newsletter at frieze.com, and follow @friezeofficial on Instagram, X and Frieze Official on Facebook.

Digital Guide

Bloomberg Connects is the Official Digital Guide to Frieze Sculpture. The Bloomberg Connects app offers exclusive content including audio guides by Fatos Üstek, Curator of Frieze Sculpture, and the exhibiting artists. To access the Official Digital Guide, search for Bloomberg Connects on Apple Store and Google Play.

^{Main image: Hans Josephsohn, Untitled, 2005. Courtesy: Galerie Max Hetzler and Skarstedt}