Zadkine Art déco

Exhibition at the Zadkine Museum, Paris, 15 November 2025 – 12 April 2026

In the early 1920s, Zadkine, having moved away from Cubism, sought a new direction and experimented with different techniques: he coloured, gilded and lacquered his sculptures, giving rise to some of his masterpieces such as L'Oiseau d'or (The Golden Bird), a plaster sculpture gilded with gold leaf, and Torse d'hermaphrodite (Hermaphrodite Torso), lacquered in collaboration with decorator André Groult. However, it was his mastery of direct carving that earned him a commission for the 1925 International Exposition of Decorative Arts. Alongside sculptors such as Pompon and the Martel brothers, he participated in the decoration of the Pergola de la Douce France, a monumental structure erected on the Esplanade des Invalides, which sought to revive the ancestral technique of direct stone carving, perceived as more authentic than modelling.

This exhibition catalogue highlights Zadkine's links with Art Deco, particularly during the exhibitions of 1925 and 1937, and focuses in particular on the question of architectural decoration, for which Zadkine collaborated with architects in Paris and Brussels. Through more than 90 works – sculptures, objects and furniture – it evokes, for the first time, Zadkine's relationships with some of the great decorators of the Art Deco period, Eileen Gray, Marc du Plantier and André Groult, also highlighting the kinship of inspiration that unites their creations.