INSTALLATION VIEWS
THE WORKS
Pyramids XII
Untitled (Pyramids)
Untitled (Pyramids)
Pyramids XI
Precursor I
Monitor III
Pyramids XII
Untitled (Pyramids)
Untitled (Pyramids)
THE EXHIBITION
Willer is pleased to present Lynn Chadwick: Exploring the Abstract, 60 years on, an exhibition of pieces from the renowned 20th Century sculptor’s extensive and significant body of work that have not been shown since the 1960’s, the decade in which they were created.
Even those well versed in Chadwick’s oeuvre are less likely to have seen and be familiar with the sculptures he produced during a very prolific period in the early part of the 1960’s.
The work marked a new departure for the artist, the exploration of more abstract forms, drawing on the combination of geometrical shapes and often overlain with a significant nod to constructivist architecture.
His working methods and the resulting pieces were both innovative and highly original in their day, and continue to be so now, 60 years on.
The aesthetic appeal for the contemporary viewer is unmistakable. The forms, the scale, the varied use of an exceptional range of bronze patinations, the relationships that can be created between the pieces, all attest to the enduring vision of one of the 20th Century greats and its relevance today.
The artefacts of Chadwick’s innovative methods have survived at Lypiatt Park, his home and studio. The wire armatures he constructed as the first step in his process, and the working models ultimately created from them, from which the pieces were cast in bronze.
Willer is grateful to the Chadwick estate for lending two of these working models to be shown alongside the pieces cast from them. Those models, together with two of the rare surviving metal armatures created by Chadwick, which are also featured in the exhibition, give a unique insight into the creation of the sculptor’s work.
‘At home’ at Lypiatt, pieces from the exhibition.
THE ARTIST
Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003) is one of the pre-eminent British sculptors of the 20th Century.
During a career spanning over 50 years until his death in 2003 he secured an international reputation underpinned by major prizes, important commissions, and a lifetime of private and public exhibitions, culminating with a major retrospective at Tate Britain in late 2003.
Represented in the world’s leading public and private collections, increasing recognition of his major contribution to British sculpture ensures that his reputation continues to grow.
Photo: Warren Forma, 1964
Chadwick was self-trained as a sculptor. His work was process-led and based on improvisation with the materials. He welded together frames made of iron or steel rods to see how they would develop. The iron or steel frame was then filled with an industrial compound of iron filings and plaster called Stolit, which could be worked wet or dry and set like stone, to create the form in his mind’s eye. He usually worked to the full size of the finished piece.
His method was unique in his choice not to sketch his sculpture beforehand, preferring instead to improvise all parts of the process without a specific plan in place, radically breaking with the tradition of first sketching a planned sculpture and then carving the piece from wood or stone. He rejected what he characterised as the amorphousness of stone, preferring to work with iron because it allowed him to “do a three dimensional drawing…which has a very definite shape.”
Photographing the stolit encased Beast XXIV, ready for the final phase of the process, casting in bronze.
From the film “5 British Sculptors Work and Talk”, by Warren Forma.
With thanks to Ananur Forma, available from www.formaartfilms.com
In collaboration with Willer, Sotheby’s will be presenting a selection of limited edition Lynn Chadwick bronze candelabras, available exclusively via private sale at Sotheby’s until 23rd December 2020. Details available HERE.
The Candelabras, though ostensibly domestic objects, are in fact very much a part of Lynn Chadwick’s oeuvre, constructed and cast in bronze exactly as his ‘pure’ sculptures, each pictured and listed in the Catalogue Raisonne of his work.
Also on the Sotheby’s website, Christian House’s excellent essay about the candelabras Lynn Chadwick’s Flickering Obsession which is AVAILABLE HERE.
