Hans Josephsohn

The work ofthe Swiss artist Hans Josephsohn (1920-2012), one of thegreatmasters of sculpture of the second half of the 20th centuryBorn in1920 in Eastern Prussia from Jewish parents, Hans Josephsohn left Germanyin 1937 andsettled in Florence with the aim of studying art. Forced to leave dueto fascistracial laws, he moved to Switzerland, which became his adoptive country.Josephsohn’soeuvre has been defined as “existential sculpture”: in a time that wasstronglycharacterised by the physical and moral devastation left by World War II,HansJosephsohn developed a language capable to talk about the fragile relationshipof mankindwith the surrounding world. He was concerned with representing thehuman beingas a figure in space throughout his life. His sculptures are characterisedby anambivalence of the almost abstract figure whose individuality is secured by itsform,material and surface.The book ispublished on the occasion of the biggest Josephsohn exhibition at theMusée d’ArtModerne in Paris, curated by the german painter Albert Oehlen. It aimsto show whyJosephsohn, though being little known during his lifetime, is recognizedas “themost important sculptor since Giacometti” (Jackie Wullschlager).The bookincludes a foreword by Fabrice Hergott, director of Musée d’Art Moderne;anintroduction by the exhibition curator, the artist Albert Oehlen; abiographicalessay byJackie Wullschlager, chief-critic of the Financial Times and author of thecelebratedbiographyMonet. The restless vision; an essay by Max Dax on archetype andan essay onJosephson’s spiritual dimension and archaic qualities by British sculptorThomasHouseago; a photo essay on the Josephsohn-Estate in St. Gallen by leadinginternationalphotographer François Halard; a wide-ranging oral history compiled outof eightnew interviews with Josephsohn’s closest allies and family, including both hiswifes, thehead of his foundry Felix Lehner as well as the Swiss architect Peter Märkli,whodesigned La Congiunta museum for Josephsohn’s works in Ticino; an essay byFrenchphilosopher Danièle Cohn about memory, trauma and space in Josephsohn’swork;Josephsohn in his own words and biographical details. The book is designedby theacclaimed art director Mike Meiré and Christopher Tröster.