Oriforme c. 1962 - 1977

Here we have Jean Arp’s Oriforme, made of aluminum. Arp’s process feels so intuitive, like he’s feeling his way around a form, letting it emerge rather than forcing it. Look at the silvery skin of the sculpture, reflecting the light. There's a tension between the smoothness of the surface and the bulk of the form. It's solid, but the curves suggest movement, like a cloud or a wave. Notice how the opening draws you in, creating a kind of interior space within the sculpture. It’s almost womb-like. Arp's work is often described as biomorphic, meaning it resembles organic forms. He’s after something deeper than just representation. It feels like he’s tapping into the basic building blocks of life. There's something of Brancusi in its simplified forms, but Arp takes it further into abstraction. These are forms that exist in their own right, not quite anything, but full of potential.