White Cube presents Aerial, an exhibition by Antony Gormley in which sculpture explores proprioception, the body’s awareness of its position and movement. This exhibition focuses on two new projects: a fusion of two oversized objects and a space created out of nothing. Aerial (2023) activates the gallery with an orthogonal matrix of aluminium rods, forming a branching system reminiscent of Piet Mondrian’s Pier and Ocean series. It promotes an understanding of space as interconnected rather than isolated objects.
The Big Double Blockworks explore physical intimacy through a reduced geometric language, a departure from Gormley’s earlier work. These works reflect on the shared experience of life during the Covid lockdown.
On the gallery floor, Big Tender (2023) depicts two stacked body forms compressed by counterbalancing forces, creating a central gravity. Big Sidle (2023) and Big Bare (2023) fuse stacked blocks into a single mass, paradoxically stabilising precarious forms. Gormley’s Big Double Blockworks evoke the need for support and intimacy.
Alongside these works are Gormley’s drawings, executed in a variety of media. The Cosmic drawings (2014-2018) explore the creation of light through the transformation of matter in space. Aperture and Lux (both 2023) depict architectural interiors, carrying architectural space through fractal planes. Other drawings evoke the darkness of the body, expressing meditative experiences.
The Aerial exhibition runs from April 30th to June 15th, 2024. Find out more on the White Cube website.
Touch I, 2023
Lux I, 2023
All photography courtesy of WHITE CUBE
