Parallels One - Anthony Gormley
Parallels is a series by our Reviews Editor Erica Rompani. Through these articles Erica explores the correlation in programming between independent and/or commercial galleries to ‘blockbuster’ exhibits at public institutions. Erica aims to both celebrate and critique this strategy in the modern day. Parallels One focuses on the work of world-renowned artist, Anthony Gormley.
If you haven’t been to the Royal Academy of Arts to see the Anthony Gormley exhibition yet then hurry! You only have a couple of days left to check out this impressive retrospective.
The exhibit presents rarely-seen works from the artist’s early career alongside new site-specific works. A highlight of this exhibition is the inclusion of a great number of Gormley’s sketchbooks. It is impressive to see how even in these early-stage drawings the artist pays careful attention to the human figure as well as the tenacious balance required by his sculptures. Clearing VII, is possibly the most impressive piece. The artist has filled a room with metal strips in a way that has you wondering about the logistics of installing such a piece. The visitor is invited to walk through this immense sculpture. Initially, you are lead through a dark corridor in which you almost lose your sense of direction in the dimly lit setting. This feeling vanishes once you emerge into a larger enclosed space where rays of light shine. The short journey through Clearing VII gives you the impression of being Pinocchio inside the whale.
If the exhibition left you hungry for more, you will still have the chance to experience some of Gormley’s sculptures just a few streets away. White Cube opened In Formation just a few weeks ago. On the ground floor four new works are presented. These human-like figures are created through notable attention to how weights interact. At first glance, the blocks of cast iron look fused together but upon closer inspection, one realises they are only stacked on one another. The exhibit continues downstairs with a series of works on paper hung on the gallery wall and nine new sculptures populating the centre of the gallery. Unlike the sculptures upstairs which were created by the layering of the blocks, these are created through aggregation.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity of seeing works by one of the most prominent British sculptors!
Royal Academy of Arts, Anthony Gormley, 21 September - 3 December 2019
White Cube Mason’s Yard, Anthony Gormley - In Formation, 13 November 2019 – 18 January 2020
Erica Rompani
Reviews Editor, MADE IN BED