Thomas Houseago

Herald Street, London
Saatchi Collection, London
Christie’s, London, 14 February 2012, Lot 28
Acquired from the above by the present owner

London, Saatchi Gallery, The Shape of Things to Come, New Sculpture, May - October 2011, p. 61, illustrated in colour
Norwich, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Thomas Houseago: Where the Wild Things Are, July 2012 - January 2013

M. Holborn, Ed., Shape of Things to Come, New Sculpture, London 2009, p. 51, illustrated in colour

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There are some cracks and losses in places, which appear to be in keeping with the artist's choice of materials and working process.
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Imposing in scale and composition, Thomas Houseago’s Figure 2 is an outstanding example of the artist’s aesthetic that merges a variety of sources ranging from pop culture to art-historical influences. The artist’s unique formal language is deeply rooted in art history, and the present work draws reference to a multitude of styles such as non western art, cubism and futurism. Using materials as diverse as wood, graphite, oil stick, plaster, hemp and iron rebar, the resulting work is raw and visceral, and explores sculptural expectations by playfully subverting them. Houseago’s intentionally clumsy forms trade the imperious and enduring qualities of traditional bronze or marble for the humble aesthetic of plaster and various found materials. Lacking the weighty physical stature expected of sculpture of this impressive scale, the artist’s monumental structure reduces the grandiose weight of art history into a sympathetic effigy.

As evidenced by Figure 2, Houseago is interested in evoking the power of figurative art, a prominent theme in his oeuvre. His work offers a critical contemplation of the human form that is both primitive and contemporary, encouraging the viewer to relate to it through identification and natural instinct. As Houseago has explained: “I’m just really interested in how (…) the body appears. What it’s like to look and live with human beings. I’m fascinated by that. And how you can express that” (Thomas Houseago quoted in: The Public Art Fund Lecture at the New School, 2010).

The present work possesses a sense of urgency, resulting from the artist’s intention to imbue his sculpture with the spontaneity and freshness of drawing, most evident here in the expressive strokes of graphite visible throughout its surface that help the work exude the traces of its making. Having previously been held in the prestigious Saatchi Collection in London, Figure 2 is an important example of the artist’s celebrated practice,that challenges the preconceptions of visual form and their associated values through its content and making, creating an alternative history that reflects a more intimate and empathetic narrative.