The Twin

2005

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

Exploiting the malleability of clay, Warren creates sculptures of lumpy, gnarled figures whose misshapen body parts assume precarious yet unexpectedly delicate stances. Such is the case with The Twin, part of a series of works that references Edgar Degas’s The Little Dancer Aged Fourteen (1878–81; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.). Warren’s work appears raw and unfinished, an effect enhanced by the duplication of the figures. This doubling suggests not only two views of the same body but also two versions of the same work, each with equal claim to authenticity. Warren considers The Twin emphatically complete, placing her in a long tradition of artists who paradoxically employ non finito as a way to bring a work of art to a satisfactory state of finish.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: The Twin
Artist: Rebecca Warren (British, born London, 1965)
Date: 2005
Medium: Reinforced clay, Perspex and plinth
Dimensions: 75 1/2 × 51 1/2 × 20 in. (191.8 × 130.8 × 50.8 cm)
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Private Collection
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art