Jean Dubuffet
French, 1901-1985
The Forest (La forêt)
INV-3612
Jean Dubuffet
French, 1901-19851969
The Forest (La forêt)
Jean Dubuffet French, 1901-1985 →sculpturemodern and contemporary art
Date
1969
Medium
Epoxy
Dimensions
106.6 × 189.8 × 120.6 cm (41 3/8 × 74 3/4 × 47 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Leonard J. Horwich Family Foundation
Jean Dubuffet was a proponent of art brut, an expressive, materially rich aesthetic inspired by the spontaneity he perceived in art created by makers outside of Western artistic traditions. Dubuffet had strong ties to Chicago ever since delivering his landmark lecture "Anti-Cultural Positons" at the Arts Club in 1951.
Although The Forest was never intended to be displayed outdoors or scaled up to an urban setting, it dates to a moment when Dubuffet was in high demand for such work. In 1984 a related work of his, Monument with Standing Beast, was constructed at the new State of Illinois Center (now James R. Thompson Center), designed by Helmut Jahn for Murphy/Jahn.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
