Lot 1063
  • 1063

ANTONY GORMLEY | Settlement

Estimate
2,400,000 - 3,200,000 HKD
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Description

  • Antony Gormley
  • Settlement
  • variable mild steel blocks
  • 24 (H) by 208.5 by 60 cm; 9½ (H) by 82 by 23⅝ in.
stamped with artist's initials, dated 2005 and numbered 621 on the underneath of sculpture

Provenance

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Exhibited

France, Paris, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Breathing Room, 30 March - 29 April 2006
Australia, Adelaide, Art Gallery of South Australia, Versus Rodin: Bodies Across Space and Time, March - July 2017

Condition

This work is in very good condition. Please refer to the following third party condition report prepared by Youjin Noh of Youjin Noh Conservation.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Settlement
Antony Gormley

Steel is the cousin of iron, a concentrated earth mineral, but it is more industrial and comes in six metre lengths at defined widths: 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60 and 80mm square section. I use it because it's hard, easy to work and lasts a long time. It is dense and holds its shape while also being vulnerable to atmosphere and oxidisation so it is tough but vulnerable at the same time; it can be polished to shine but will return to earth if left. The whole sculpture plays with together and apart, the part and the whole, the acceptance of entropy and the discipline necessary to withstand it. Works like Settlement attempt to remake the body in terms of a village, pueblo or city, celebrating the body itself as a place of indwelling but vulnerable existence. Steel suits our industrial age more than bronze. I like its colour. I like the fact that the drawn sides are very different in texture to the cut ends. We bolt all the pieces together. I like the chess-like challenge of not bolting yourself out: there always has to be space to turn your block so putting the pieces together tightly so that the whole piece stays together is hard but when it is together it is very rewarding. The body is an aggregate of cells and the sculpture an aggregate of blocks, an echo of the place I found myself and made again to see. 

Antony Gormley, 2015

Photograph by Stephen White, London