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George Segal — Breast and Whicker Chair
George Segal

Breast and Whicker Chair

1978

A fragment of the human form rendered in pale, ghostly plaster, Breast and Wicker Chair situates the body in intimate dialogue with the domestic object. Completed in 1978, this small-scale work distills George Segal's lifelong preoccupation with the physical presence of ordinary life, isolating a single corporeal detail alongside the woven geometry of a wicker chair. The juxtaposition is quietly radical, placing flesh and furniture on equal terms and inviting the eye to move between organic softness and the crisp, repetitive pattern of hand-woven material. At 48.5 by 25.5 by 18.5 centimetres, the piece commands attention beyond its modest dimensions, carrying the concentrated weight of Segal's broader sculptural vision in a format that lends itself naturally to intimate collection environments. Segal rose to prominence through his life-cast figures in environmental tableaux, and this work reflects the same sensitivity to surface, stillness, and the poetry of the mundane that defined his larger installations. Here the painted plaster retains the matte, almost clinical pallor associated with his practice, lending the fragment an air of quiet solemnity. The partial body is neither objectified nor idealized but presented with the same democratic attention he gave to faces, hands, and full figures throughout his career. Signed by the artist and offered in good condition without frame, Breast and Wicker Chair represents a rare opportunity to acquire a focused, formally resolved work by one of American figurative sculpture's most consequential voices, available through Templon.

Medium
Plaster, paint
Overall
Signed
Yes
Location
Templon, Paris

For Sale — $50000

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Spotted works by George Segal

About this work

George Segal, Breast and Whicker Chair, 1978

A fragment of the human form rendered in pale, ghostly plaster, Breast and Wicker Chair situates the body in intimate dialogue with the domestic object. Completed in 1978, this small-scale work distills George Segal's lifelong preoccupation with the physical presence of ordinary life, isolating a single corporeal detail alongside the woven geometry of a wicker chair. The juxtaposition is quietly radical, placing flesh and furniture on equal terms and inviting the eye to move between organic softness and the crisp, repetitive pattern of hand-woven material. At 48.5 by 25.5 by 18.5 centimetres, the piece commands attention beyond its modest dimensions, carrying the concentrated weight of Segal's broader sculptural vision in a format that lends itself naturally to intimate collection environments. Segal rose to prominence through his life-cast figures in environmental tableaux, and this work reflects the same sensitivity to surface, stillness, and the poetry of the mundane that defined his larger installations. Here the painted plaster retains the matte, almost clinical pallor associated with his practice, lending the fragment an air of quiet solemnity. The partial body is neither objectified nor idealized but presented with the same democratic attention he gave to faces, hands, and full figures throughout his career. Signed by the artist and offered in good condition without frame, Breast and Wicker Chair represents a rare opportunity to acquire a focused, formally resolved work by one of American figurative sculpture's most consequential voices, available through Templon.

Medium
Plaster, paint
Dimensions
overall: 48.5 x 25.5 x 18.5 cm
Year
1978
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Templon, Paris

More works by George Segal

Collected by

Sharrissa Iqbal