Anthony Gormley | “Model”
(Reuters) – Britain’s foremost living sculptor Antony Gormley wants us to get inside his head with his latest work “Model”, a 100-tonne steel maze of cubes and squares, dark corners and splashes of light on show at the White Cube gallery in London.
The giant grey-black work, based on a human form lying down, is entered via the right “foot”, and combines the fun of an adventure playground with the unnerving quality of a labyrinth often plunged into darkness.
For the first time, the Turner Prize-winning artist who has always been preoccupied with the human form allows us to get inside, and draws parallels between the body and the architectural spaces we inhabit.
“I think we dwell first in this borrowed bit of the material world that we call the body,” Gormley told Reuters, standing beside the imposing structure made up of interlocking blocks.
“It has its own life that is unknowable. But the second place we dwell is the body of architecture, the built environment,” he added.
“We’re the most extraordinary species that decided to structure our habitat according to very, very abstract principles of horizontal and vertical planes.”
Model has plenty of surprises. The more nimble visitor can crawl through its left “arm”, which is a passage around three feet high, or clamber on to a roof bathed in light.
“There are places that you wouldn’t necessarily know are there,” Gormley said. As if to prove his point, he disappeared into a large raised “aperture” invisible in the darkness.
Sound also plays a part, with the resonance of voices and rumble of footsteps giving clues to the size of each space.”
image and text courtesy Reuters.com
Whitney Biennale |Thomas Houseago: Installing Baby
The Whitney Biennale running from the 25th Feb to May 30th 2010 it brings together an eclectic group of artists whom, according to the Whitney, represent the leading edge of contemporary practice in America.
Check out the Biennale website here
In this video Thomas Houseago discusses the inspiration for his sculpture, Baby, and describes how the sculpture travelled from L.A. to the Whitney Museum for the 2010 Biennale.
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Abstract America | New Painting and Sculpture
The Saatchi Gallery on King’s Road, London, is currently showing an exhibition entitled “Abstract America: New Painting and Sculpture” . The exhibition runs until January 17, 2010 and brings together new work from more than 40 American artists, among them: Kristin Baker, John Bauer, Mark Bradford, Tom Burr, Joe Bradley, Jedediah Caesar, Carter, Eric and Heather ChanSchatz, Peter Coffin, Guerra de la Paz, Francesca DiMattio, Bart Exposito, Mark Grotjahn, Jacob Hashimoto, Rachel Harrison, Patrick Hill, Ryan Johnson, Matt Johnson, Paul Lee, Chris Martin, Elizabeth Neel, Baker Overstreet, Stephen G. Rhodes, Amanda Ross-Ho, Sterling Ruby, Gedi Sibony, Amy Sillman, Agathe Snow, Kirsten Stoltmann, Dan Walsh, Jonas Wood, Aaron Young.
Abstract America: New Painting and Sculpture / Saatchi Gallery, London. Exhibition walkthrough, June 25, 2009.
Footage courtesy of Vernissage Art TV