Among the works the couple worked together, Dessin (Duo-dessin) (1939) imbibes rigid line rendering close to the Constructivist style. Sophie and Jean stood out as popular figures in numerous exhibitions across Europe.

Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Jean Arp, Dessin (Duo-dessin), 1939, Stiftung Arp e. V., Berlin/Rolandswerth c VG BILD- KUNST, Bonn & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2024 C4772

With the outbreak of World War I, the Arps moved to Strasbourg, France in 1926 and obtained French citizenship. They settled in Clamart outside Paris the following year. Sophie became involved in architecture and interior design, and designed their home and studio, which included the Modular Cabinet (gray shelves) (c.1929) in varied shades of gray. Their involvement with geometric and abstraction artists circles, such as “Cercle et Carré” and “Abstraction-Creation” group, further cultivated both their styles in this fashion. Sophie’s Aubette 200 (design for the ceiling of the Aubette Bar in the Aubette, Strasbourg) (1927), Composition with angular circles-with-arms in lines and planes, (1930), Relief Cell (Rectangular, geometric elements) (1936), and Gradation (1934) all attest the play of shapes, primary colors and flat backgrounds.

Jean Arp, Untitled (dessin déchiré),1934, Stiftung Arp e. V., Berlin/Rolandswerth c VG BILD-KUNST, Bonn & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2024 C4772

Meanwhile, Jean experimented on “paper déchiré” (torn paper) in his collages, such as Untitled (dessin déchiré) (1934), wherein the effect of tearing sheets of paper into multiple fragments, with their irregular contours, reflected a poetic orchestra of random thoughts floating in space (Arp used the phrase “poems without words”).

Jean Arp (After the work by Sophie Taeuber-Arp), Untitled (Head), 1950s, Stiftung Arp e. V., Berlin/Rolandswerth c VG BILD-KUNST, Bonn & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2024 C4772

The Arps were compelled to flee from one city to another to escape the ravages of the war, but persevered to follow through their work and exhibitions. In 1943, Sophie died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Her death caused Jean to cease his sculptural work temporarily. He, however resumed his passion after four years and consequently, traveled to America for a commissioned sculpture project by Walter Gropius of the Bauhaus. Untitled (Head) (1950s), Daphne (1955), and Shell-Hat (1965) are sample sculptures on display he achieved without his deceased wife and creative partner. Arp brilliantly asserted flexibility and roundness of curves against wedge-like incisions. He remarried in 1959 and passed away in 1966 in Basel, Switzerland. 

The exhibition is a wonderful tribute to the Arps who have demonstrated not only the formidable empowerment of women in the early 20th century, but also the bounteous fruits of an endearing partnership in love and the arts. 

Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Jean Arp
Date: March 1st – June 1st, 2025
Opening Hours: 10:00 – 18:00 (Fridays until 20:00)
Closed on Mondays（except May 5th), May 7th
Place: Artizon Museum
Address: 1-7-2 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Tel: +81 (0)47 316 2772
https://www.artizon.museum