Entité erectile 1962

Pol Bury made this monochromatic object, ‘Entité erectile’ out of plaster and pins. Imagine him, like a sculptor and a painter, building up the surface with plaster, then embedding each tiny pin with care and precision. I can feel the tension between order and chaos. A sphere seems to be emerging from the flat, textured plane, yet it is also breaking apart, dissolving into a cloud of pins. The surface is built up by the repetitive action of mark-making, each stroke a record of the artist’s hand. It reminds me of the work of Lucio Fontana, who punctured the canvas to open up a new dimension. Bury pierces our understanding of the surface, transforming it into something alive and energetic. It’s as if the artist is saying that art is not just about what you see, but about how it makes you feel. Ambiguity is where art thrives.