Przestrzeń otwarta – kształt, symetria i dynamiczna narracja w rzeźbie abstrakcyjnej
The Opened Space – Shape, Symmetry and Dynamic Narration in Contemporary Abstract Scuplture

Summary/Abstract: E. Chillida once said that nobody knows what space exactly is. I try to describe a new idea of space that is emerging from theoretical texts on contemporary sculpture written by Kobro, Morris and Chillida. At the same time I want to establish more precise meaning of what the abstraction in sculpture might be. Among the other things that could help define the abstract scuplture are: analysis of a shape or a form (geometric as well as non-geometric one or so called „geometrized”), symmetry (or „relative symmetry”) of composition, and finally research on space and its perception (including not only a scientific notion of space but also a natural, a perceptual or an artistic one). Processes of geometrization and asymmetrization, evident in Kobro’s, Morris’ and Chillida’s works, let the artists articulate the most basic function of a sculpture, that is to open the space (to change our idea and perception of space). An abstract sculpture enters the space and, at the same time, makes the viewer move into the space. It unifies the inner (generally subjective) and outer (objective) images of space. In my reflexion on abstract sculpture I emphasize the role of a shape (a form, a figure) in abstract artworks, and, from the other side, I am trying to legitimize a relationship between abstraction and representation. According to me one cannot name the abstract sculpture non-representative or non-figurative since it has its own object of perception, representation and reflexion, I mean: space. For me the abstract scuplture (artworks by Kobro, Morris or Chillida) is a form of narration about space which is real and concrete in a more strict sense than any representation.

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