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NEWS RELEASE (issued 30 July 2001) CARO AT LONGSIDE: SCULPTURE AND SCULPITECTURE - A NEW EXHIBITION OF WORK BY SIR ANTHONY CARO 21 September 2001 – April 2002 The largest exhibition of Anthony Caro’s work to be staged in this country for fifteen years is currently being installed at Longside Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s new building. Caro is the first artist invited to exhibit in this dramatic space, which is ideally suited for large installations. The major exhibition will launch the opening of Longside on 21 September 2001. It will include a group of the artist’s largest sculptures, many of which have never been previously exhibited. The exhibition highlights the artist’s exploration of the relationship between sculpture and architecture – a principal direction in Caro’s work since the early 1980s. The shared aesthetic concerns of space, scale and volume which link the two disciplines are reflected in the large sculptures. The works that convey this communion of thinking Caro has choosen to call ‘sculpitecture’. They often demand physical involvement. Just as a person experiences a building walking in and through as well as around it, so the sculptures invite visitors to inhabit and interact with them in a physical way. The 33 metre long sculpture Goodwood Steps, for example, allows visitors to walk around and between its huge columns. By relating to the sculpture in this physical way, our own human size gives a new and more immediate reference to the piece. Walking through a Caro sculpture provides a way of experiencing it that demands a different frame of reaction. Child’s Tower Room, made from Japanese oak, tempts the spectator to climb into it, experience its portholes, its entrances small enough to squeeze through and steps to climb up or squat under. Caro intended the piece to be a room that children experience tangibly, to help them learn more about themselves and the space we inhabit. Caro’s belief that architecture is the purest abstract visual form, activating ambient space, sky and light, is perfectly shown in the openness of the new Longside gallery at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The size of the building permits large-scale sculptures, normally sited outdoors, to be exhibited alongside each other in an indoor space. The perspective of siting sculpture within a landscape is maintained in this indoor space via the huge window which stretches the entire width of the building and overlooks the eighteenth century Bretton landscape. Associations between the interior and exterior, evident in Caro’s work, are also reflected back into the gallery space through this framed view. Furthermore, this drama between sculpture, interior space and landscape stimulates a sense of history and reference to classical art, design and architecture. As well as monumental sculpture, the exhibition includes 1/20 scale models which chart the development of Caro’s work from the Fifties to the present. They create the context for the sculptures in the show and were made after the full-scale sculptures themselves were finished. Born in 1924, Anthony Caro is Britain’s most eminent sculptor. His sculpture and teaching at St Martin’s School of Art in the Sixties influenced the direction of British sculpture and throughout his life, Caro has continually experimented with form and material. He has exhibited throughout the world and is represented in over a hundred public collections. He was knighted in 1987 and last year was granted the Order of Merit, the first sculptor to receive this special honour since Henry Moore. A YSP publication will be produced to coincide with the exhibition, with texts by Peter Murray and Anthony Caro and photography by John Riddy showing the work in situ at the Longside Gallery. For further information, please contact Janice
Cox, Marketing Officer:
NEWS RELEASE (issued 25 May 2001) SIR ANTHONY CARO EXHIBITION LAUNCHES NEW GALLERIES AT YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK 21 September 2001 – April 2002 Yorkshire Sculpture Park is delighted to announce a major exhibition of work by Anthony Caro to launch the opening of its new Longside Gallery on 21 September. This beautiful spacious gallery, overlooking the whole of the eighteenth century Bretton landscape, is an ideal location for Caro’s work. The exhibition will include a group of the artist’s large sculptures, most of which have never been previously exhibited. The new Longside Gallery has been rebuilt from a former equestrian centre. The openness of the building has been retained, providing an exciting and unconventional space ideally suited for large installations. Over 1765 square metres of indoor space will be devoted to the exhibition, presenting a unique opportunity to interact and engage with the works of art. The exhibition will build upon Caro’s past associations with Yorkshire and his continuing concern with architecture. Caro’s sculptures, which often explore the relationship between art and architecture, will complement the design, conception and construction of the new building. Goodwood Steps’ monumental form will act as a centrepiece. The 33 metre sculpture invites the visitor to walk in and out of its stepped spirals, somewhat reminiscent of a tower laid on its side. The work is a development of Halifax Steps, which was shown at Dean Clough in1995 and has been reconfigured for Longside. The exhibition will include at least twenty monumental sculptures, the earliest work on show being the Child’s Tower Room. Made from Japanese oak, it tempts the spectator to climb into the sculpture and physically experience its forms. It will be shown along with new works such as Legend (1994/2001). Anthony Caro is this country’s most eminent sculptor. After studying at the Royal Academy Schools, he worked as an assistant to Henry Moore. During the 1960s he taught at St Martins School of Art and helped change the direction of British sculpture, establishing a pivotal reputation throughout the world. His work has been shown at major international exhibitions and is represented in over 150 museums and other public collections worldwide. The Longside exhibition provides a rare opportunity for the public to see a selection of the artist’s work in this country. A YSP publication will be produced to coincide with the exhibition, with photography by John Riddy showing the work in situ at the Longside Gallery. For further information, please contact Alex Hodby, Assistant Curator tel: 01924 830 579
e-mail: office@ysp.co.uk Alex Hodby, Assistant Curator:
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