Magdalena Abakanowicz was born to an aristocratic family in Poland and was forced to flee her homestead in World War II, settling in Warsaw where she studied art. Her work began earning national acclaim in 1965 when she won the gold medal at the Sao Paulo Biennale.

Abakanowicz created the Hands-like Trees installation for the exhibition Human/Nature at Spoleto Festival USA in 1997. Her works often deal with the human figure in unexpected ways, dealing with the notion of the “countless” in visual groups.

Abakanowicz is one of the most influential sculptors of the post-war period. Her works can be found in numerous internationally-renowned collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, Centre Georges Popmidou in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Mueseum of Modern Art in New York, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.