Untitled

Giambologna's monumental sculpture The Abduction of the Sabines, an emblem of Florentine Mannerism, seems to be gradually melting away. It is actually a perfect wax replica whose wicks Urs Fischer lights at the beginning of the exhibition. The original masterpiece is meant to inspire awe. In response, the American artist asks us to contemplate its alteration and, ultimately, its destruction.

Fischer has made the work’s wear and tear and self-destruction one of his trademarks. Untitled was created in the same year as a life-size wax self-portrait. With powerful irony, it questions the work of art’s durability and, ultimately, its status. When sculpture is consumed, it becomes an ephemeral event whose reduction to the state of deformed matter is inexorable.

Fischer’s sculpture was exhibited for the first time by the Pinault Collection during the 2014 "Art Lovers" show at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco.