In this elegant variation on one of her iconic sculptural concepts, Tapta explores the expressive potential of industrial materials with remarkable restraint. The supple curve of neoprene wraps around a vertical corten steel plate, creating a composition that is simultaneously architectural and organic.

The work embodies the artist's fascination with movement. Although entirely static, the sculpture appears to expand and contract as the viewer moves around it. The dialogue between the matte black surface of the neoprene and the warm, oxidised steel generates a subtle visual tension that is characteristic of Tapta's mature practice. Rather than imposing itself upon a space, the sculpture activates it. Light, shadow and the surrounding architecture become integral components of the work, underlining Tapta's conviction that sculpture should exist in constant conversation with its environment.

Born Maria Wierusz-Kowalski in Poland in 1926, Tapta settled in Belgium after the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 and trained as a weaver at La Cambre in Brussels, later heading that school's textile department from 1976 to 1990. Her move from woven textiles to neoprene and metal in the 1980s and 90s remains one of the defining gestures of post-war Belgian sculpture.

Details

• Material: Neoprene and corten steel
• Dimensions: 120 × 50 × 140 cm & 133 × 50 × 155 cm
• Edition: 2/8