Fifty Years of British Sculpture
19 March - 8 May 2022
Our Spring exhibition is a presentation of British sculpture from the late 1950s to the end of the 2000s. It is not meant to be a definitive survey: rather it is a series of snapshots, taken from key moments in the history of British art in the second half of the 20th century, from the radical abstraction of the Constructionist movement, through to the emergence of the ‘New Generation’ sculptors of the 60s, working with colour and new materials, on to the arte povera inspired work of the ‘New British Sculpture’ of the 1980s and finally, to the era of the YBAs.
This exhibition is a very personal selection of artists who the New Art Centre has shown over the course of its 60-year history, artists whom we consider made an important contribution to the wider discourse of sculpture in Britain – and abroad. Some, such as Barbara Hepworth, Anthony Caro, William Turnbull and Antony Gormley, have international reputations to match their talents, whereas others, such as Hubert Dalwood, Robert Adams and Nicholas Pope deserve wider recognition and our show aims to put this right.
In many ways, the exhibition mirrors the history of the New Art Centre itself – founded in 1958 with the aim of showing work by up-and-coming artists who were struggling for representation elsewhere. The gallery has always focussed on sculpture: this was the main reason it moved to Roche Court in 1994, in turn creating one of the first commercially run sculpture parks in Britain.
Gallery installation view, Fifty Years of British Sculpture
Antony Gormley
QUANTUM CLOUD XIV , 2000
Stainless Steel
4.76 mm square section stainless steel bar
250 x 163 x 160 cm
98 ½ x 64 ¼ x 63 in.
Robert Adams (1917-84)
Vertical Form No. 1, 1963
Bronzed steel
172.5 x 46.5 x 10 cm
5ft 7 ¾ x 1ft 6 ¼ x 4 in.
Unique
Gallery installation view, Fifty Years of British Sculpture
Nicholas Pope
Yews, 1981
Carved yews in eight parts
Various dimensions
Height 88-140cm/ 34 ½ - 55 in.
Anthony Caro (1924-2013)
Can Co Castle, 1975
Stoneware (fired clay)
25.4 x 63.5 x 66 cm
10 x 25 x 26 in.
Nicholas Pope
(front)
Small White Lump, 1979
Lump chalk
35 x 26 x 20 cm / 14 x 10 ¼ x 8 in.
(behind)
Two Points 2, 1979
Lump chalk
20 x 30 x 26 cm / 8 x 12 x 10 ¼ in.
Gallery installation view, Fifty Years of British Sculpture
Reg Butler
Study for Circus, 1959
Bronze
51.4 x 19.1 x 17.5 cm
1ft 7 ⅞ x 7 ½ x 6 ⅞ in.
Signed with artist's monogram and editioned 'RB 7/8' (on base)
Cast 7 from an edition of 8
Stephen Gilbert (1910 – 2007)
Structure, 1961
Aluminium
64 x 102 x 56 cm
25.19 x 40.15 x 22.04 in.
Unique
William Turnbull (1922-2012)
Paddle Venus 3, 1986
Bronze
186 x 36.2 x 49.5 cm
73 ¼ x 14 ¼ x 19 ½ in.
Signed with artist’s stamp, numbered & dated ‘5/6 86’ on base, behind figure
Cast 5 from an edition of 6 plus 1 AP
Around the Park
Edward Allington
From the Sex of Metals II, 1989
Galvanised steel
108 x 160 x 230 cm
42 ½ x 63 x 90 ½ in
David Annesley
Untitled 1969
Painted aluminium
223.5 x 210.2 x 61 cm
88 x 83 x 24 in.
Cast 2 from an edition of 3
Michael Bolus
Untitled Sculpture No.3, 1974
Painted steel
138 x 321 x 298 cm
4ft 6 ⅜ x 10ft 6 ⅜ x 9ft 9 ⅜ in.
Michael Bolus
Untitled, 1981
Painted aluminium and mild steel
134.5 x 91.5 x 69 cm
4ft 5 x 3ft x 2ft 3 in.
Antony Gormley
(above)
BEFORE, 2002
Cast iron
194 x 46 x 64 cm
6 ft 6 in. x 1 ft ¾ in. x 2 ft 1 ¼ in.
Cast 4 from an edition of 5 plus 3 APs
(below)
BREAK, 2002
Cast iron
193 x 87 x 32 cm
6 ft 6 in. x 2 ft 10 ½ in. x 1 ft ¾ in.
Cast 4 from an edition of 5 plus 2 APs
Nigel Hall
Nine Degrees North, 1990
Phosphor bronze
237.5 x 174 x 133 cm
93 1/2 x 68 1/2 x 52 3/8 in
Gertrude Hermes
The Seed, 1962
Bronze
6ft 6 ⅜ x 2ft 4 ¾ x 1ft 10 ½ ins
199 x 73 x 57 cm
Ed. 2 of 2 (from clay)
Bernard Meadows
Head and Shoulders of Augustus, 1962-64
Bronze with a green patina (in two parts)
1ft 10 x 3ft 3 ⅜ x 1ft 5 ¾ ins
56 x 100 x 45 cm
Ed. of 6 + 1 AP
F.E McWilliam (1909-1992)
Figure Waiting, 1987
Bronze
170 x 80 x 40 cm
66.9 x 31.4 x 15.7 in
Edition of 3
William Tucker
Volans (A), 1970
Painted Fibreglass
228.6 x 317.5 x 177.8 cm
7ft 6 x 10ft 5 x 5ft 10 in.
Unique
William Tucker
Four Part Sculpture No.1, c.1966
Painted Steel
91.5 x 228.6 x 228.6 cm
3ft x 7ft 6 x 7ft 6 in.
Unique
Bill Woodrow
Endeavour, 1994
Bronze
208 x 445 x 174 cm
81 ¾ x 175 ¼ x 68 ½ in.
Signed & dated ‘Bill Woodrow 1994’ on barrel
Unique
