by Peter Clossick PPLG
Artist Huma Bhabha’s sculptures start a conversation with the works by the world-renowned sculptor Alberto Giacometti at the Barbican Art Gallery, Barbican Centre
From a figurative perspective, Huma Bhabha (age 62) uses multiple media construction compared to Giacometti’s familiar iconic bronze figures. Giacometti’s existential figure sculptures are legendary, while Bhabha’s postmodern works are in a more surreal direction. They are very different, but they create a most interesting juxtaposition that depicts human existence from the twentieth to the twenty-first centuries. Giacometti’s (1901-66) variable scale elongated sculpture evokes an emotive memory of Etruscan votive figures, such as the “Ombra della sera,” which resembles a shadow (from 2BCE) compared to Huma Bhabha’s more brutalist style depictions which work so well with the surrounding architecture. Giacometti’s “The Glade” and other tiny figure groupings reflect his saying that he always saw people as small when seen in the distance. He is one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century, posing philosophical questions on the human condition, reflecting lived experience with his classic works on display. As an assistant to Meyer Vaisman, Huma Bhabha learned much in reflecting on the multicultural approach. She also worked with a taxidermist and, in some works, used animal skulls with Neolithic-looking blocks. She describes her sculptures as characters, some carved in cork and then cast into bronze, and some looking like remnants from an archaeological dig. The raw textures create a dialogue between the two artists, with general themes in common. Her rough constructions with found materials are powerful. Playing with rules and strategies, she interrogates the nature of the art object, dissected and dismembered with material appropriation, compared to Giacometti’s older twentieth-century art style. This small exhibition of powerful representations is brilliantly placed in a superb new gallery space with good light and views out the windows, ideal for sculpture. What is a relief is the total lack of labels, titling the works and telling you what you should think! So you can approach the experience with an open mind. Also, I discovered an artist I had not heard of before. I am familiar with Giacometti, but the powerful Huma Bhabha was utterly new to me, and the whole experience was a delight.
Peter Clossick PPLG, 2025
Encounters: Giacometti x Huma Bhabha
Level 2, Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS
8 May to 10 August
Tuesday to Sunday, 12 – 8 pm. £8 entry
Co-organised by the Barbican and the Fondation Giacometti
In partnership with the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi
Images by Peter Clossick
