Huma Bhabha: Encounters – Giacometti

Huma Bhabha takes the spotlight in the first of a series of exhibitions that set the work of contemporary artists alongside sculptures by Alberto Giacometti (8 May–10 August). They make a fitting pair: both artists are known for making standalone figures that distort the human form. Whereas Giacometti was referring to the horrors of the Second World War, Bhabha’s boxier creations, which are by turns modular and monumental, seem to reach beyond human experience. That several works on display by both artists depict disembodied legs and feet, as if blown off by mines or grenades, is a stark reminder of the persistence of warfare through the centuries. The kinds of bodily damage on display take very different forms: Bhabha’s Mask of Dimitrios (2019) suggests a petrified figure drained of corporeal vigour; the closed eye and missing ear of Giacometti’s Large Head (1960) imply not only injury but also an assault on the senses.

Find out more from the Barbican’s website.
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Installation view of Mask of Dimitrios (2019) by Huma Bhabha. Photo: Daniel Perez; courtesy the artist and David Zwirner; © the artist

Large Head (1960), Alberto Giacometti. Courtesy Fondation Giacometti

Installation view of Feel the Hammer (2024) by Huma Bhabha. Photo: Kerry McFate; courtesy the artist and David Zwirner; © the artist