The thread of life
November 20, 2025–April 12, 2026
Paris 75015
France
Magdalena Abakanowicz's work returns to Paris after more than 40 years. Although her radical and pioneering works have been regularly exhibited around the world, from the United States to Japan and Europe, and most recently at the Tate Modern in London and the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne, the French public has only had the opportunity to admire them once, at the Musée d'Art Moderne in 1982.
On November 20, 2025, the Musée Bourdelle in Paris will open the first major monographic exhibition of Magdalena Abakanowicz's work, La trame de l'existence / The thread of life, restoring the artist to her rightful place among the great sculptors of the 20th century. The Musée Bourdelle offers a look at the artist's work from the perspective of her biography and political engagement, presenting a broad overview of her work: over 70 monumental sculptures, textile works, drawings, and photographs. The exhibition will be open until April 12, 2026 and will be accompanied by a rich program of events.
The exhibition is the result of cooperation between the Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz Kosmowska Foundation and Jan Kosmowski and the museum, with support from the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Polish Institute in Paris.
The thread of life—the first major retrospective dedicated to Magdalena Abakanowicz in France
Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930–2017) was not only one of the most important artists on the Polish cultural scene of the 20th century, but also a key figure in the avant-garde of Central and Eastern Europe. A comprehensive presentation of her work in Paris, one of the capitals of world art, gives the artist a whole new dimension—that of a precursor of contemporary artistic practices in a global perspective.
Abakanowicz's biography is marked by the difficult experiences that defined the 20th century in Poland: war, communist repression, and censorship. This found resonance in her work, which took the form of immersive, poetic, sometimes disturbing sculptures and fabrics, often commenting on political issues.
Inspired by the organic world, seriality, and monumentality, her work also has an undeniable power and relevance, remaining a living reference to contemporary ecological issues. Inspired by the organic world, seriality, and monumentality, her work also possesses undeniable power and relevance, remaining a living reference to contemporary ecological, humanistic, and feminist issues.
The exhibition title The thread of life takes a biographical and political perspective, taking viewers on a journey through time—from Abakanowicz's early work to her mature, most recognizable works such as The Crowd and Embryology. The newly restored interiors of the Musée Bourdelle will display over 70 monumental sculptures, textile works, drawings, and photographs. The concept for the presentation of Abakanowicz's works was developed by the exhibition's chief curator, Ophélie Ferlier Bouat, who is the director of the Musée Bourdelle, and the scientific curator, Jérôme Godeau, a long-time expert at the institution, along with Colin Lemoine, art historian, and Margaux Coïc, exhibition assistant.
The title of the exhibition, The thread of life combines two terms that the artist used to describe her work: fabric as an organism, the interweaving of body and destiny. Abakanowicz created a unique collection of works in which fabric becomes a metaphor for the human body, transformed and experienced by the upheavals of history. Each work expresses the tension between fragility and monumentality. In the vast spaces of the museum, visitors will move among impressive, almost totemic sculptures that raise questions about the human condition, community, and memory. The dialogue with the austere architecture of the concrete walls will enhance the impact of the works, providing space for discussion and reflection.
The exhibition is the result of cooperation between the Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz Kosmowska and Jan Kosmowski Foundation and the museum, with support from the the Polish Institute in Paris and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. The works have been loaned by: the Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz Kosmowska and Jan Kosmowski Foundation in Warsaw, the Toms Pauli Foundation in Lausanne, the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, Tate Modern in London, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow, and the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris.
Magdalena Abakanowicz's art even closer to the audience—a program of accompanying events
The exhibition is accompanied by a rich program of events, lectures, and meetings. Guided tours and workshops are also offered. A completely new formula is meditative visits that allow the audience to discover the exhibition through an approach that combines body and mind and to learn about mindfulness of meditation. During “Nuits de la lecture” in January 2026, an actress will read texts by Magdalena Abakanowicz, in a gesture of giving voice to the artist herself.
The program will also include events aimed at children. A path with labels will guide them through the exhibition, and family workshops entitled “Small Mutants” and “Imaginary Bestiary” will encourage them to look at the strength and fragility of the animal world.
On December 8 and 9, 2025, a conference entitled “Weaving/Creating: The Rebirth of Textile Art from 1945 to Today” will be held. Organized in collaboration with the Polish Institute in Paris, this two-day conference will shed new light on the work of Magdalena Abakanowicz and textile art after 1945.
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