Biomorphism

Biomorphism models artistic forms on naturally occurring patterns and shapes reminiscent of living organisms. The term was coined by the British writer Geoffrey Grigson in 1935 and popularized by Alfred H. Barr Jr. in the catalogue of MoMA's 1936 exhibition Cubism and Abstract Art. Rooted in Surrealism and Art Nouveau, biomorphic form runs through the abstract sculpture of Jean Arp, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, the dream landscapes of Yves Tanguy and Roberto Matta, and the architecture of Antoni Gaudí. In industrial design it produced objects from Isamu Noguchi's table to Benjamin Bowden's Spacelander bicycle - shapes that borrow nature's curves rather than copying them. Its key note: abstract forms that refer to, or evoke, living forms.

Defining characteristics

• Abstract shapes that refer to, or evoke, living forms without depicting them
• Flowing, curvilinear outlines and soft, rounded volumes
• Shapeless, vaguely spherical or cell-like hints of biological form
• Organic asymmetry and metamorphosis - one form seeming to grow into the next
• Nature's curves adapted to functional objects in design and architecture

Key figures

• Jean Arp (1886-1966) — Sculptor whose amoebic reliefs made organic abstraction a language
• Joan Miró (1893-1983) — Painter of playful biomorphic creatures and floating organic signs
• Henry Moore (1898-1986) — Sculptor whose reclining figures fuse body and landscape
• Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975) — Sculptor of pierced, pebble-like abstract forms evoking natural growth
• Yves Tanguy (1900-1955) — Surrealist painter of strange invented organisms in dreamscapes

Example works

• Spacelander Bicycle — Benjamin G. Bowden (1946)
• TWA Flight Center — Eero Saarinen (1962)

Sources

• Biomorphism - Wikipedia encyclopedia

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