Marlborough Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above

This work is in very good and sound condition overall. Any fraying or surface inconsistencies appear intentional and inherent to the artist’s working method.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Magdalena Abakanowicz was born into an esteemed Polish family and came of age during the tumultu♛ous period of the Second World War and the ensuing period of Soviet influence under Communist rule.  Her artistic output doesn't fit into the Socialist Realist mold into which might be expected but her talent and steadfast resolve would enable her art to receive the sort of critical acclaim and commercial success it deserves.

The present work is an excellent example of her ability to transform the mundane and corporeal into an ethereal celebration of being.  The spread arms and elevated nature of the work call to mind Yves Klein's Le Saut dans le Vide, the famous images which depict the artist seemingly leaping from a building onto the street below.  Abakanowicz, in her representation of the hollowed out form stitched together with her own synthetic burlap, has described the same sort of reality through absence that Klein sought to represe🌸nt in his own work.  Here, she elevates the plebian and refuting the de-individualizing nature of communist rule, describes a very particular reality, one which is satisfied by the viewer in his or her own space, time, and mind.