Chanteuse

Already an established artist and member of the Parisian avant-garde, Warsaw-born Nadelman immigrated to America in 1914 with the advent of the First World War. While his previous sculptural work had evinced influences as diverse as classical antiquity and Cubism (which he claimed to have invented), soon after arriving in the United States Nadelman’s work began to reflect his fascination with American folk art. “I employ no other line than the curve, which possesses freshness and force,” Nadelman stated, explaining that he sought to create harmony through the interplay of concave and convex forms. Certainly the graceful curves of Chanteuse embody this notion, from the lyrical arc of the singer’s arms as she stands poised to perform, to the rhythmic cascade of her hair and the fluted folds of her skirt. In emulation of the wooden folk art pieces he admired, Nadelman deliberately “weathered” his pieces, and the haunting face of this work suggests not only the ravages of time and the elements.