*Left,* Alberto Giacometti, photographed by Brassaï in his Paris studio, 1948; *right, The Nose,* by Giacometti, 1947.

Close Encounters

In London, the contemporary artist Mona Hatoum honors Alberto Giacometti with an exhibition exploring their mutual fascination with the psychological effects of violence

By Harry Seymour

The art of Alberto Giacometti (1901–66)—so profound in its form and provocative in its meaning—continues to influence generations of artists. London’s Barbican Centre explores this legacy in a three-part series of exhibitions that places the work of contemporary sculptors in conversation with the master. The second installment, “Encounters: Giacometti x Mona Hatoum,” opened this week.

Giacometti was born in rural Switzerland. In 1922, he moved to Paris, where he spent the years between 1931 and 1935 as a Surrealist, before returning to the corporeal.