Antony Gormley

by E.H. Gombrich

Recipient of the 1994 Turner Prize Antony Gormley (b.1950) is an internationally acclaimed British artist who has revitalized the human figure in sculpture. Often cast from his own body, his lead and iron figures are sites for the exploration of states of being. Generating controversy and passion, Gormley's public sculptures raise key issues about the relation between art, society and the environment as a metaphysical and political realm. In the late 1990s his ongoing investigation of architectural and social space evolved into large-scale interentions, from the 300 closely ranked reinforced concrete blocks of  Allotment  (1996) to the 100 solitary cast iron figures facing towards the horizon on the coastal mud flats at Cuxhaven, northern Germany ( Another Place , 1997).   The Angel of the North  (1998), commissioned by the city of Gateshead, is one of the most ambitious public sculptures in Britain since the time of Henry Moore.  Asian Field , a sculptural installation made up of 190,000 clay figures, was created in Guangzhou, China, in 2003 and later toured to Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing.   Irish curator and scholar in Oriental studies John Hutchinson surveys the sources, development and significance of the artist's work. A discussion with the late Professor Ernst Gombrich covers Gormley's approach to the human figure, which both departs from and opens up Western art historical traditions. Slovenian author Lela B. Njatin weaves a poetic narrative around her encounter with  Field  (1990-93). For his Artist's Choice, Gormley has selected a passage from the  Confessions  of Saint Augustine, who, like the artist, locates memory as both a cerebral and bodily experience of the world. Antony Gormley's writings, which include interviews and artist's statements, evince the influence of Eastern thought in his art's reflections upon being and consciousness. This revised and expanded second edition includes over 50 additional pages documenting Gormley's work from 1995 to 2000. Recent writings by the artist accompany a comprehensive evaluation of recent developments in his sculptural concerns by American art historian W. J. T. Mitchell.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

212 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich, OM, CBE (30 March 1909 – 3 November 2001) was an Austrian-born art historian, who spent most of his working life in the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[CM · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great introduction to Mr Gormley and his works. Even if you are not into his sculptures, the opening section,a conversation between the artist and renowned art historian E.H. Gombrich, is worth a read for all art lovers. The artist's writings and a concluding section on the significance of Mr Gormley are, unlike many other art books, well written and illuminating.

The survey here is very much the usual art-speak stuffs but it's fine, at least not jarring nor is it obscure to me. The focus section on Mr Gormley's "Field"....probably the weakest part of the book. Still, this is the second book I have read in this Phaidon Contemporary Artists series and these two books have somehow restored my faith in art books :-)

[Kevin McDonagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happening across Gormley's ghostly imprints has a habit of making people ‘double take’. Momentarily turning a spectator into a statue, stunned into contemplative stillness. Phaidon here photo document Antony’s most notable shows along with conversations at the time of his creations along with a full listed show chronology at the back. A great introduction to his oeuvre.