A rippling mass: Tony Cragg’s ’Sculptures’ at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Pantin
Three days before the opening of a new solo exhibition at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Tony Cragg could be found moving one of his works on a pallet jack. Named Stroke, because of its loose, Lichtenstein-like resemblance to a humongous, dimensional brushstroke, the top-heavy bronze had reduced the artist to baby steps as he tugged it a few metres through one of the halls. ‘The main thing is not to give up,’ he said afterward, downplaying its 1500 kg heft.
As the first show that the artist has staged at the Pantin gallery – located in a former heating factory northeast of Paris – the vastness of space largely determined his creation of 21 new works which, arguably, represent the 66-year-old’s most breathtaking to date.
Less a dramatic departure than a self-imposed challenge to expand upon ideas he has been exploring over and over for two decades, these sculptures, he tells Wallpaper*, emanate from an urge to impart a visceral response via the complexity of form.
‘I’m not an artist that throws things against the wall in the knowledge they’ll make interesting forms. That doesn’t interest me,’ he says. ‘I try to analyse and in a sense control the inside formal structure of a form, to the point that it becomes an emotional experience.’
For some, this will occur in the gallery’s cathedral hall, where three sculptures stand between 3.6 m and 5.7 m in height, like epic evidence of material workmanship that feels equally familiar and foreign—especially Mean Average, with its multi-stemmed, rippled mass reaching skyward.
But visitors are just as likely to feel overwhelmed by the compact, undulating layered forms that fill the two halls to the left and right of the entry alley. Whereas a grouping of lustrous bronzes evoke extraterrestrial engine parts, a separate pair painted in flat hues of yellow ochre and persimmon seem to have emerged from so many opposing forces that they defy any close comparison. If the Willow series registers as naturally occurring, with its biomorphic overlay of shell or planetary ring shapes, Listeners, a column studded with parabolic antennae in a pearlescent crimson reads as eerily manmade.
Collectively, Cragg explains, they express the tension that occurs when forms engulf other forms. Indeed, the exterior surface of several works often reveal internal structures, whether dense, or twisted and tangled; drawing views in, although only to the points that light can reach. ‘Some of the work is at the limit of what the foundry can do,’ admits the British sculptor.
Yet drawing – his starting point – offers infinite possibility, he insists, refuting the notion that a sketch exists as a two-dimensional construct. ‘I can see things in 5-D,’ he says with a laugh. ‘You often draw things that aren’t makeable. They’re not reality. And your brain twists them in a wonderful way.’
INFORMATION
’Tony Cragg: Sculptures’ is on view until 30 June. For more information, visit Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac’s website
Photography: Charles Duprat. Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris/Salzburg
ADDRESS
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
69 Avenue du Général Leclerc
93500 Pantin
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
A vacant Tribeca penthouse is transformed into a bright, contemporary eyrie
A Tribeca penthouse is elevated by Peterson Rich Office, who redesigned it by adding a sculptural staircase and openings to the large terrace
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Antwerp Navigator: an unfussy guide to ‘the diamond capital of the world’
A visit to Antwerp will stimulate and inspire your senses, in the best way. Here’s what we recommend
By Ellen Himelfarb Published
-
AtArchitecture on narratives, uplifting spaces and their search for 'beauty and meaning'
Mumbai's AtArchitecture discusses its methods, ethos and hopes for India's architecture through its portfolio and search for 'beauty and meaning'
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary art
As Jack Whitten exhibition ‘Speedchaser’ opens at Hauser & Wirth, London, and before a major retrospective at MoMA opens next year, we explore the American artist's impact
By Finn Blythe Published
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s Park
Twenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
By Smilian Cibic Published
-
Harlem-born artist Tschabalala Self’s colourful ode to the landscape of her childhood
Tschabalala Self’s new show at Finland's Espoo Museum of Modern Art evokes memories of her upbringing, in vibrant multi-dimensional vignettes
By Millen Brown-Ewens Published
-
Wanås Konst sculpture park merges art and nature in Sweden
Wanås Konst’s latest exhibition, 'The Ocean in the Forest', unites land and sea with watery-inspired art in the park’s woodland setting
By Alice Godwin Published
-
Pino Pascali’s brief and brilliant life celebrated at Fondazione Prada
Milan’s Fondazione Prada honours Italian artist Pino Pascali, dedicating four of its expansive main show spaces to an exhibition of his work
By Kasia Maciejowska Published
-
John Cage’s ‘now moments’ inspire Lismore Castle Arts’ group show
Lismore Castle Arts’ ‘Each now, is the time, the space’ takes its title from John Cage, and sees four artists embrace the moment through sculpture and found objects
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Gerhard Richter unveils new sculpture at Serpentine South
Gerhard Richter revisits themes of pattern and repetition in ‘Strip-Tower’ at London’s Serpentine South
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Peter Blake’s sculptures spark joy at Waddington Custot in London
‘Peter Blake: Sculpture and Other Matters’, at London's Waddington Custot, spans six decades of the artist's career
By Hannah Silver Published