Abakanowicz, Magdalena (1930-2017)

Abakanowicz, Magdalena

SCULPTOR, FIBER ARTIST (POLAND)

BORN 20 Jun 1930, Falenty, Pruszkóv - DIED 20 Apr 2017, Warschau
BIRTH NAME Abakanowicz, Marta Magdalena
GRAVE LOCATION Warszawa: Cmentarz Wojskowy na Powazkach (Military Cemetery), ulica Powazkowska (B 15 (4/30))

Magdalena Abakanowicz descended of a Polish family of andowners. He family joined the Polish resistance during World War II. After the war she was an athlete and she won three silver medals in Polish championships in relay races. She studied at the School of Fine Arts in Sopot and from 1950 to 1954 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In 1956 she married Jan Kosmowski.

In 1956 she started her work as an independent artist. She was influenced by constructivism and in the sixties she became famous for her large - often woven - structures, named 'Abakans' after her. Quantity is an important concept in her work: her sculptures show large groups of people or animals. She created them in bronze, wood, steel and ceramic. Abakanowicz was a Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznán from 1965 to 1990. She died in 2017 in Warsaw.

Works: "Heads" (1975); "Backs" (1976-1980); "Embryology" (1980); "Catharsis" (1986); "Ninety Five Figures from the Crowd of One 2017Thousend and Ninety Five Figures" (2000).

Images
'Figura Prima'. (1995) Picture by Pat/Androom (Jun 1998)	The grave of Magdalena Abakanowicz at Cmentarz Wojskowy na Powazkach in Warsaw. Picture by Androom (14 Sep 2026)