antony gormley: facts and systems at white cube

‘subject II’ by antony gormley, 2012
mild steel blocks
56 11/16 x 19 5/16 x 27 9/16 in. (144 x 49 x 70 cm)
image by stephen white © the artist
courtesy white cube

antony gormley: facts and systems (fatos e sistemãs)
white cube at rua agostinho rodrigues filho 550, são paulo, brazil
on now until july 15th, 2012

the first special project presented by white cube gallery takes place at rua agostinho rodrigues filho 550 in brazil and features an installation comprised of two new series of sculpture by british artist antony gormley. in one room, the steel-block, stacked works of gormley are on exhibition while the other space holds a display of his linear sculptural pieces formed from 6mm steel, curved in many directions. both stylistic movements articulated by the artist in this assemblage of pieces are actualizations of his continued investigation into spatial relation and architectural composition. each of the pieces are the artist’s attempt to describe the essence of inhabiting a certain space at a particular point in time. gormley’s works in steel are a continuation of his exploration in the concept of the displacement of a body space completed in a minimalistic and pixelated form. the new works reference his past projects completed in this manner beginning in 2001. these pieces also seek to remedy the artist’s inquiry into architectural language and the translation of a person’s body mass into the equivalent in a more structural and less human form. every construction is a playful and surrealistic structure, recalling the most rudimentary building approach– like a child building with his or her blocks.

‘hold IV’, 2012
30 5/16 x 16 9/16 x 24 in. (77 x 42 x 61 cm)
mild steel blocks
image by stephen white © the artist
courtesy white cube

‘secure’, 2012
6mm square key steel
dimensions variable
image by stephen white © the artist
courtesy white cube

the line pieces by gormley are born from an interpretation of the artistic and architectural principle of ‘taking a line for a walk’. in this instance, the artist moves one line all throughout the gallery room. the alternately curving and angular line sculptures become a three-dimensional representation of where and how a human body might occupy a space. each of the pieces grow from wire moving from one side in a straight line, then looping and moving at sharp turns to create volume before being drawn out the other side, ending at the same base point, whether this be wall, ground or ceiling, from where the first line segment originated.

‘the lines of the sculpture physically describing its journey into and out of the room‘. -white cube