Curated by Michael Stanley and Paul Luckraft in association with Kesselhaus Josephsohn/Gale

Hans Josephsohn once prepared for a visit from a critic he had yet to meet by inquiring about the shape of his head—an odd request, perhaps, but one consistent with the sculptor’s lifelong dedication to the timeless task of representing the human figure in three dimensions. No doubt the pursuit put him at odds with his age and can at least partially explain why it wasn’t until a decade ago, at the age of eighty-two, that he began to receive international attention. Born into a Jewish family in East Prussia, Josephsohn relocated on the eve of World War II to Zurich, where he remained until his death this past August. Though not a full retrospective, Modern Art Oxford’s exhibition will nonetheless be the first in a UK public institution to properly showcase this Swiss artist, whose singular body of work remains as intimate as it is supremely obdurate.

— Caoimhín Mac Giolla Léith