- 165
Antony Gormley
Estimate
250,000 - 350,000 GBP
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Description
- Antony Gormley
- GUT II
- variable mild steel blocks
- 160 by 53.3 by 68cm.; 63 by 21 by 26 3/4 in.
- Executed in 2007, this work is unique.
Provenance
White Cube, London
Private Collection
Private Collection
Condition
Colour:
The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is brighter in the original and the catalogue illustration fails to convey the shiny nature of the steel.
Condition:
This work is in very good condition. Extremely close inspection in raking light reveals a few very faint and unobtrusive scratches isolated in places.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
The Blockwork Series, which is still continuing, makes physical pixelisations with a rising canon of four blocks, each eight times the volume of the one before, keeping the same 1:1:2 proportion as in the original Building series that only used one block size.
The first works in this series were made in moulds working relatively blind, allowing the largest blocks where possible. All the blocks are contained within the constraints of the mould.
This was an attempt to apply the logic of the post and lintel structures of building to the body, making a massive, chrystalline precipitate. All of the early works allude to chemical states: Concentrate, Precipitate, Sublimate, using them as metaphors for internal feeling.
As the series developed, the challenge became one of trying to liberate each of the participant blocks into a space of its own creating a tension between space and mass, cohesion and breakdown that permeates the whole. The challenge is to try to make the dynamic of the hovering blocks a substitute for the obsession with movement that has characterised figuration in the history of Western sculpture.
The first works in this series were made in moulds working relatively blind, allowing the largest blocks where possible. All the blocks are contained within the constraints of the mould.
This was an attempt to apply the logic of the post and lintel structures of building to the body, making a massive, chrystalline precipitate. All of the early works allude to chemical states: Concentrate, Precipitate, Sublimate, using them as metaphors for internal feeling.
As the series developed, the challenge became one of trying to liberate each of the participant blocks into a space of its own creating a tension between space and mass, cohesion and breakdown that permeates the whole. The challenge is to try to make the dynamic of the hovering blocks a substitute for the obsession with movement that has characterised figuration in the history of Western sculpture.
The success of any one work depends on there being an absolute tension between the sharp material clarity of the steel blocks, and a sense of vulnerability and exposure in the gestalt. The edge of the works is very important. Light and space eat into the embodied core, so the works have a quality of incomplete resolution.
Antony Gormley
Photograph by: Stephen White, London