Henry Moore (British, 1898-1986) and Sorel Etrog (Romanian-Canadian, 1933-2014) are well-known nationally and internationally for their large-scale sculpture, particularly in bronze, informed by elements of the abstract, the surreal, the primitive, and the classical. This exhibition explores the remarkable affinities between these two artists’ treatment of both figurative and abstract subjects through their work in two dimensions. The pairings are strikingly legible—Moore and Etrog explored many of the same subjects—and reveal the shared artistic preoccupations of these two artists, as well as highlighting the ways in which their approaches diverge.
The delineation and interpretation of the human form was central to the artistic practice of both Moore and Etrog; indeed a singular approach to human anatomy predominates each of their respective oeuvres. While Moore is known for his reflections on volume and contour and Etrog for his mechanical, interlocked constructions, in their work in two dimensions both artists demonstrate a relentless fixation on the expression of that intangible aura that exists around a three-dimensional object in space.
In 1999 and 2000, Sorel Etrog donated 138 works on paper to the MacLaren Art Centre. This exhibition features selected works from this gift alongside works on paper by Henry Moore, chosen from over 600 works on paper acquired by the MacLaren by purchase and donation in 2002–2004.
