A fascination with the human figure

Veteran artist Hans Josephsohn’s sculptures have their first Irish outing at Lismore Castle Arts, writes Tina O’Sullivan

JOSEPHSOHN is the major summer show at Lismore Castle Arts. The solo exhibition of Hans Josephsohn’s figurative sculptures is the artist’s first in this country, which he has yet to visit.

Josephsohn was born in Kaliningrad, East Prussia, in 1920. He attended art school in Florence, Italy, before moving permanently to Switzerland in 1939. His exile was prompted, in part, by his Jewish heritage. Josephsohn trained under the Swiss sculptor Otto Müller.

Lismore Castle Arts is a gallery developed in the west wing of Lismore Castle, Co Waterford, between 2003 and 2005. The 300-year-old building, with its modern gallery space, is a perfect platform for Josephson’s sculptural figures. The exhibition continues into the castle gardens.

Iwan Wirth, of Josephson’s international representatives, Hauser and Wirth, oversaw the collaboration with Lismore Castle Arts. “I first had the pleasure of working with Lismore Castle Arts in 2009,” says Wirth.

“They hosted United Technologies, a group exhibition including works by Jason Rhoades, a close friend and brilliant artist. They did an excellent job with Jason’s installation, and when the opportunity presented itself to work with Lismore Castle Arts again, I couldn’t wait to get started.”

Josephsohn’s sculptures are rough-hewn and appear to be weathered and porous. Josephson’s affinity with working in plaster is partly responsible for his style. It is a material that demands a quick and decisive response from the artist. This results is sculpture that is more instinctive than laboured. The plaster medium becomes more rugged and crumbly as the artist works into it.

Josephsohn has used this to achieve an organic aesthetic in his work. Recently, Josephsohn has moved into working in brass in the foundry.

The human figure is central to the exhibition and to Josephsohn’s work

The collection shown in Lismore Castle Arts takes in work from 1950 to 2011. There are three main lines of work in the show: figures, heads and two-dimensional pieces. Josephsohn is said to be inspired by the Moai sculptures on Easter Island, and Medieval Romanesque sculptures. His pared-down realism points to a preoccupation with early stone carving. The sculptures are stand-alone figures, or monoliths, similar in bulk to those on Easter Island.

The various stances of Josephsohn’s figures, however, are more modern. The reclining pose is often employed, with the models lying with a hand propping up their head.

Medieval churches still display the two-dimensional sculptures installed in the conception of the buildings. They were to communicate Biblical stories to the congregation. Josephsohn is heavily involved in two-dimensional sculpture. The pieces range from low-relief figurative work, where symbols and references can be clearly identified, to more abstract work. These have a wonderful gloomy quality and are in keeping with the style of his freestanding sculpture. The flat work gives Josephsohn the opportunity to create shadows and suggests a self-contained narrative within each piece.

Wirth says Lismore Castle is a fitting location to celebrate Josephsohn’s work. “I have seen Josephsohn’s sculptures in many different contexts,” he says, “from the Lutyens-designed interior of our gallery on Piccadilly, to the serenity of La Congiunta in Switzerland, to major institutions in Zurich, Amsterdam, London and New York. These have all been breathtaking installations, but nothing compares to the current exhibition at Lismore Castle Arts. The landscape and historic architecture bring out the personality of his sculptures and highlight Josephsohn’s incredible skill at relating his work so beautifully to its surroundings.”

St Carthage Hall is a second gallery space connected with Lismore Castle Arts, located in Lismore town, which will host three shows this summer. TJ Wilcox’s The Heir and Astaire is the current show. Fred Astaire’s sister and theatrical star, Adele, was married to Lord Charles Cavendish in the inter-war years.

The exhibition looks at her life with a focus on the Lismore years, when Adele brought theatrical glamour to the castle. Lismore’s current Dowager Duchess of Devonshire gives a video interview about the relationship between Astaire and the Devonshire seat.

Corban Walker’s work Please Adjust, from the 2011 Irish Pavilion at Venice Art Biennale, will be installed in St Carthage Hall for the midsummer exhibition.

The culmination of an arts residency at Lismore is the final summer show, 24 Intentions, by Alastair MacKinven, at St Carthage’s Hall.

Josephsohn runs until Sep 30