Anna Mizak – Using the Human Body as Language

“The most important thing in the world is the human being: the subdued, the proud, the wounded, the resilient, the mobile, the pain-filled.”

With these words, the Polish–Swedish artist Anna Mizak opened an exhibition at Stadsgalleriet in 1989. Her artistic practice revolves around the human being and the human body – at rest and in motion. The body appears as a central motif, interpreted and transformed into a visual language of its own. Her works become signs of humanity rather than depictions of it, whether she works in bronze, stone, marble, acrylic, or charcoal.In her early works, the forms are expressive and forceful. She modelled robust bronzes in which one can sense the presence of a woman in the kneaded material. Over time, the expression grew more pared down. The bodies thinned out, were reduced and concentrated – until only the sign remained. Yet the movement is always there, perhaps even more clearly in the later, distilled works. Figures moving forward, running with determination, are captured both in the mass of the sculpture and in the light charcoal lines on paper.“Human beings are the centre of my work. I like meeting people – talking, listening, observing their movements and expressions. I am interested in the human interior. At first, I created portraits and bodies in strongly expressive forms. These forms I have gradually simplified, until only a single sign remains: a simple symbolism of the human.” – Anna Mizak

Anna Mizak was born in 1939 in Poland. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and later at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. In 1968 she settled in Stockholm but worked internationally. She remained active as an artist until her passing in 2019. Her works are represented, among other places, in the collections of Moderna Museet.

In the current auction, we see several fine examples of her expressive bronzes, where faces and bodies can be sensed within the shaped material. We also encounter the beautifully distilled forms in marble, as well as the thin, movement-filled figures – both in sculpture and on paper – that eventually became her hallmark.

The viewing for this auction is at MAGASIN 1, Södra Hamnvägen 8, Stockholm.Mondag-Friday 12-5, Saturday 11-3