antony gormley: firmament IV

antony gormley: firmament IV
anna schwartz gallery, sydney
may 7th to july 3rd, 2010

firmament IV, 2010
visualization of the work at anna schwartz gallery, sydney
photo © the artist
courtesy the artist and anna schwartz gallery

a new exhibition of UK-based artist antony gormley‘s work has just opened at the
anna schwartz gallery in sydney, australia. entitled ‘firmament IV’, the show includes
an installation of a single ‘expanded field’ which gormley has constructed from 1030,
150mm diameter steel balls and 1849 steel elements that have been welded together
to create a non-regular, polygonal structure – a form that dissolves and resolves throughout the gallery.
in appearance it looks like an assembled matrix of volumes that map a celestial constellation,
while also implying the form of a body lost within it. this particular piece is entitled ‘firmament’,
and is the fourth in a series of works in which gormley attempts to map out space.

antony gormley
firmament IV, 2010
installation view, anna schwartz gallery, sydney
image courtesy of anna schwartz gallery

the resulting web could be interpreted as an expanded diagram of microscopic mineral structures,
as much as it could be considered a condensed and domesticated map of the heavens.
gormley’s work has always been about our sense of perception, testing our experience with
physical presence in certain conditions of time and space. on this occasion, the viewer is asked
to continually adjust his / her relationship to the field as he / she navigates through it.

antony gormley
firmament IV, 2010
installation detail, anna schwartz gallery, sydney
image courtesy of anna schwartz gallery

the installation is giant in scale, measuring 20 x 12.6 x 8.4 meters, built in situ,
so that it pushes against the edges of the gallery space, making it the most monumental one
in the series to date. this work was developed with tristan simmonds.

antony gormley
drift V, 2010
1.6 mm stainless steel wire
204 x 228 x 203 cm
image courtesy of the artist

antony gormley
aperture X, 2010
3 mm square section mild steel bar
189 x 53.5 x 29 cm
image courtesy of the artist

antony gormley
aperture IX, 2010
10 mm square section mild steel bar
178 x 51 x 44 cm
image courtesy of the artist

antony gormley
lift II, 2010
8 mm square section mild steel
194 x 41 x 35 cm
image courtesy of the artist

antony gormley
standing matter XXVI, 2009
forged bell bearings
190 x 52 x 27 cm
image courtesy of the artist

antony gormley
cast IV, 2009
cast iron
192 x 45 x 37 cm
image courtesy of the artist