Lynn Chadwick, Hypercycle
Curated by Matthieu Poirier, presented by Perrotin and the Centre des monuments nationaux
Born in 1914 in London, died in 2003 in Stroud
Variable dimensions
Bronze
“Hypercycle” is an exhibition presented across three continents in three chronological chapters. It traces the artist’s career, with “Scalene” as the first chapter, showcased simultaneously at Perrotin in Paris and at the Hôtel de Sully by the Centre des monuments nationaux.
Lynn Chadwick was one of the most significant sculptors of the twentieth century, alongside Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, and Louise Bourgeois. “Hypercycle,” proposed by art historian Matthieu Poirier, is a series of exhibitions at several
sites across three continents from 2024 to 2026, with three chapters, each tracing a part of the artist’s career. The first chapter begins on October 12, 2024 in Paris, at the Centre des Monuments Nationaux–Hôtel de Sully and Perrotin. It brings together sixty key works produced between 1947 and 1962, a time when the artist defined his unique approach and achieved international recognition. This is the first time that an exhibition like this is held in France.
The second chapter covers his mature period, from 1963 to 1979, and will take place in New York in 2025. The third chapter, focused on his late work, from 1980 to 1996, will be held in Asia in 2026. A monograph is forthcoming in 2025, providing a full overview of Chadwick’s career and offering various perspectives on his work from eminent art historians specializing in postwar sculpture in Europe and the United States.
Photo credit: Lynn Chadwick, Stranger III, 1959. Photograph by Claire Dorn. Courtesy of Lynn Chadwick's Estate and Perrotin
Matthieu Poirier
About the curator
Matthieu Poirier, Dr. Pr. (1976) is an art historian. A specialist in abstract art, he holds a doctorate from the University of Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV) where he also qualified to be a Senior Lecturer.
Poirier is a former visiting scholar at the German Center for the History of Art; he has taught at the University of Paris - Sorbonne and has been Professor of modern art history at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris-Cergy and at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris.
An author and editor-in-chief of numerous publications, he has curated many exhibitions, such as ‘Lucia Koch’, ‘Suspension. A History of Abstract Hanging Sculpture. 1918-2018’, ‘Artur Lescher’, ‘Carlos Cruz-Diez’ (Palais d’Iéna), ‘Dynamo. A Century of Light and Movement in Art. 1913-2013’ (Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais), ‘Hans Hartung’ (Perrotin New-York), ‘Soto. A Retrospective’ (Musée Soulages), ‘Spectres’ (Roesler Hotel, São Paulo), and ‘Sous le motif’ (Collection d’Art Société Générale, Paris-La Défense).
He has been the scientific advisor for exhibitions at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Museo Reina Sofia, Louisiana Museum, Tate Modern, Palais de Tokyo and Palazzo del Monte di Pièta in Padua. He is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) and the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art (IKT).
Portrait by Marion Berrin for Art Basel.