Working across Europe, Britain and the United States in the first half of the 20th century, Naum Gabo (1890–1977) lived through revolution, war and rapid technological change. His response was a new kind of sculpture for the modern world: optimistic, forward-looking and rooted in shared experience.
Gabo changed what sculpture could be. Instead of heavy materials like stone or bronze, he used space, light, movement and line, introducing transparency, rhythm and time into sculpture. His belief that art should respond to modern life - including science, technology, architecture and social change - made him a pioneer of abstraction.
Today, Gabo’s ideas resonate in contemporary sculpture, installation and architecture, where artists shape how we move through space using light, movement and modern materials.
Ambassador Room - Doors for the Talk open at 12:30.
Entry to the exhibition on the same day, included in talk ticket price.
Banner image: Naum Gabo (1890–1977), Opus Seven (WE 47S), date unknown, Monoprint from professionally made end-grain block of Florida boxwood, Courtesy Cristea Roberts Gallery and the artist’s family.
