Maria Bartuszová

Tate Modern presents the UK’s first major exhibition of the work of Maria Bartuszová (1936-1996), an artist who defined the world of sculpture on her own terms using innovative methods in plaster casting. From raindrops and eggs to the human body, Bartuszová took inspiration from organic forms and cycles in the natural world. Spanning the breadth of her remarkable 30-year career, this show reveals a prolific body of tactile, sensual, and evocative sculptures, shaped by the artist’s personal experiences and deep love of nature.

Bringing together over 80 of Bartuszová’s delicate plaster works alongside bronze casts and aluminium reliefs – many of which have never been shown in this country before – it offers a rare chance to discover how this little-known artist transformed abstract sculpture with works that capture the vitality and precarity of life.

The exhibition explores how Bartuszová worked inventively and quickly, using the fleeting and liquid process of casting to create simultaneously solid and delicate artworks. In the early 1960s, inspired by playing with an inflatable ball with her young daughter, she created abstract shapes by pouring plaster into rubber balloons and molding it using pressure and tension, a method she coined ‘gravistimulation’. The resulting works reflect the artist’s profound connection to nature, evoking living and growing forms while continuing to retain the presence of the body.

Exhibition now opens at Tate Modern until 16 April 2023. Discover more here