Marta Pan

Marta Pan discussing her work, 1995

Marta Pan (12 June 1923, Budapest — 12 October 2008, Paris) was a French abstract sculptor of Hungarian origin.

Early life

Marta Pan was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1923.^[1] She studied art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Budapest.^[1]

Work

Pan's sculptures are highly concerned with balance, symmetry, and geometry.^[1] She often created her works so that they were site-specific and worked with the surrounding environment.^[1] In 1946 Pan moved to Paris, where she met Constantin Brâncuşi and Fernand Léger.^[1] In 1952 she married André Wogenscky, who was a studio assistant to Le Corbusier.^[1] Her early sculptures were highly influenced by the architecture of Le Corbusier.^[1] In 1956, Pan created Le Teck, which consisted of two moveable parts.^[1] The choreographer Maurice Béjart later created a ballet, also entitled Le Teck, inspired directly by Pan's sculpture.^[1] Béjart's ballet was premiered on the roof of Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation building in Marseille, France.^[1] Until 1960, all of Pan's sculptures consisted of this two-part construction method, which allowed one piece to be moved, thus altering the work.^[2]

Death

Pan died on 12 October 2008 in Paris, France.^[1]

Public collections

Pan's work can be seen in a number of public institutions and locations, including:

• Floating Sculpture (1973), Dallas City Hall, Dallas (Texas), USA^[3]
• Sculpture flottante, Otterlo (1960), Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands^[4]
• La Perspective (1992), Musée de la Ville de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (Yvelines, Île-de-France), France^[5]
• Floating Sculpture No. 3 (1972), Lynden Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee (Wisconsin), USA^[6]
• Signe infini (1993), intersection of autoroutes A46 and A6 at Ambérieux (Rhône, Rhône-Alpes), France.

Recognition

In 2001 Pan was awarded the prestigious Praemium Imperiale award for Sculpture from the Japan Art Society.^[1]

Selected works

• 

  Amphitheatre

• 

  Floating sculpture

• 

  Sphère coupée

• 

  Floating sculpture

References

1. "Marta Pan - Praemium Imperiale", Praemium Imperiale, Retrieved 12 November 2014.
2. "Pan - Artists - Collection Societe Generale", Société Générale, Retrieved 12 November 2014.
3. "Public ArtWalk Dallas", Public ArtWalk Dallas, Retrieved 13 November 2014.
4. "Sculpture Flottante - Otterlo", Kröller Müller Museum, Retrieved 13 November 2014.
5. "Marta Pan", Saint Quentin en Yvelines, Retrieved 13 November 2014.
6. "Floating Sculpture no. 3", Lynden Sculpture Garden, Retrieved 23 November 2014.

Further reading

• "Pan, Marta." In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, (accessed February 22, 2012; subscription required).

External links

• Entry for Marta Pan on the Union List of Artist Names