In his later years Arp primarily produced three-dimensional sculptures that he modeled in plaster and translated into stone and bronze. Plaster enabled Arp to experiment with new, unique forms, such as the amoebalike shapes in Configuration in Serpentine Movements. Referring to his biomorphic art as "l’art concret" (concrete art), Arp emphasized how this style evoked natural forms without imitation or specific definition, as if the sculpture had been created by natural forces rather than his own hand.
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the artist (from 1950; to Curt Valentin); [Curt Valentin Gallery, New York, in 1954; sold to Colin]; Mr. and Mrs. Ralph F. Colin, New York (by 1957–76; their gift to MMA)
New York. Curt Valentin Gallery. "Jean Arp," March 2–27, 1954, no. 8 (as "Configuration in Serpentine Movements [Configuration au mouvements de serpent]").
New York. World House Galleries. "The Struggle for New Form," January 22–February 23, 1957, no. 2 (dated ca. 1950, lent by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph F. Colin).
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "Arp," October 8–November 30, 1958, no. 94 (as "Configuration in Serpentine Movements [Snake Movement I]," lent by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph F. Colin, New York).
New York. Knoedler Gallery. "The Colin Collection: Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture," April 12–May 14, 1960, no. 122.
Dallas. Nasher Sculpture Center. "The Nature of Arp," September 15, 2018–January 6, 2019, no. 72.
Kermit I. Lansner. "The Double-Take in Arp." Art News 53 (March 1954), pp. 17, 55–56, generally discusses works in Exh. New York 1954.
William Rubin. "Arp: 'The World of Memory and Dreams'." Art Digest 29 (March 1, 1954), p. 24.
Maguerite Hagenbach in Carola Giedion-Welcker. Jean Arp. New York, 1957, p. 111, no. 109, ill. p. 84, calls it "Snake Movement I" and locates it in a private collection, USA.
James Thrall Soby, ed. Arp. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art, New York. New York, 1958, pp. 11, 123, no. 94, ill. p. 97.
"What Isn't Art?" Time 71 (June 9, 1958), p. 62, ill.
Stuart Preston. "New York." Burlington Magazine 102 (May 1960), p. 229, fig. 52.
Ralph F. Colin. The Colin Collection: Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture. Exh. cat., Knoedler Gallery. New York, 1960, unpaginated, no. 122, ill.
Marguerite Arp-Hagenbach in Ionel Jianou. Jean Arp. Paris, 1973, p. 72, no. 109.
Jean Arp (French (born Germany), Strasbourg 1886–1966 Basel)
1927–28
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