Hans Arp: Ovi Bimba

Abstract

Hans Arp was one of the most innovative and influential artists of the 20th century. With a playful hand and a multifaceted practice that included sculpture, relief, painting, collage and poetry, Arp juggled the dominant art currents of Cubism, Surrealism and Constructivism, combining seemingly contradictory geometric and organic formal idioms with the artistic 'isms' of his epoch. In 1916, Arp was invited by Hugo Ball to take part in the Cabaret Voltaire at Spiegelgasse 1 in Zurich. The now iconic event marked the birth of Dadaism and the beginnings of a long overdue breakthrough for Arp. 'Ovi Bimba' is a revelatory publication exploring these early years of Arp's practice, focusing on his time in Zurich during the birth of Dada to his sculptures in the 1940s and 1950s. The publication positions these diverse pieces alongside those of Arp's fellow artists, including his wife, Sophie Taeuber-Arp.