Polish sculptor and fiber-artist. Abakanowicz was born to an aristocratic Polish-Russian family in Poland (1930). She is known for investigating the concept of "the countless" and her large installations, like the largest figurative sculpture of our time, “Agora”, in Chicago Grant Park. The political instability during her childhood in Poland have shaped the issues she addresses like courage and dignity. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw, Poland (1950-1954) and has been Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Poznan, Poland (1965-1990) and Visiting Professor at the U.C.L.A. (1984). She currently live and works in Warsaw.