Connaught Brown presents an exhibition of sculptures by Baltasar Lobo, one of the most notable Spanish sculptors of the 20th century.
Lobo was a leading figure of the Parisian avant-garde in the wake of the Second World War and amongst the group of émigré artists that fled to Paris during the rise of Franco. Arriving in Paris in 1939, Lobo quickly joined a vibrant, bohemian circle of artists in Montparnasse and forged friendships with pioneering sculptors including Pablo Picasso, Jacques Lipchitz and Henri Laurens.
Lobo’s sculptural practice focuses upon central themes of the female figure and the mother and child. Stirred by the primitive forms of Iberian masks and sculptures, Lobo was drawn to the simplicity and naivety of female idols. His elegant style captured the essential femininity and balance of the human body with rhythmic, undulating curves in bronze and marble. The radiant surface of these sensual works evoked the supple and flawless skin of the female form. Through the motif of motherhood, Lobo expressed the primeval, protective instinct of the mother towards her child. Into the 1950s, Lobo began to tread the tightrope between figuration and abstraction; experimenting with voluptuous, abstract forms that conjure the essence of the figure in the same way as Jean Arp and Constantin Brancusi.
This is the fourth solo exhibition of Lobo’s work at Connaught Brown, following acclaimed shows in 2014, 2004 and 2001. During his lifetime Lobo exhibited beside Laurens, Matisse, Picasso, Bonnard and Léger, and received prestigious awards such as the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1981) and Spanish National Prize for Sculpture (1984). Lobo’s sculptures are now featured in some of the most prestigious museums around the world including Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris; Centro d’Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid and Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo. A museum dedicated to Baltasar Lobo was established in 1998 in his birth-place of Zamora, Spain. While Lobo remains relatively unfamiliar to British collections, the market and desire for his elegant works continue to strengthen.
