AT 1812, INSPIRATION OFTEN BEGINS BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF FASHION. SCULPTURE, ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE ART ALL SHAPE THE WAY FORM, PROPORTION AND PRESENCE ARE UNDERSTOOD. AMONG THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BRITISH SCULPTORS OF THE MODERN ERA IS ANTONY GORMLEY.
ANTONY GORMLEY WAS BORN IN LONDON IN 1950. HIS EARLY LIFE INCLUDED EXTENDED PERIODS TRAVELLING IN ASIA WHERE HE STUDIED MEDITATION AND PHILOSOPHY, EXPERIENCES THAT WOULD LATER INFLUENCE THE CONTEMPLATIVE QUALITY PRESENT IN MUCH OF HIS WORK. FROM THE BEGINNING OF HIS CAREER, GORMLEY FOCUSED ON A SINGLE SUBJECT, THE HUMAN BODY. HIS SCULPTURES, OFTEN CAST FROM HIS OWN FORM AND STRIPPED OF DETAIL, BECOME ALMOST ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES. PLACED IN LANDSCAPES, GALLERIES OR URBAN ENVIRONMENTS, THEY INVITE THE VIEWER TO CONSIDER THE BODY NOT AS AN OBJECT OF OBSERVATION BUT AS A MEASURE OF SPACE ITSELF.
THE ANGEL OF THE NORTH, A MONUMENTAL STEEL FIGURE OVERLOOKING NORTH EAST ENGLAND, COMPLETED IN 1998, IS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC ARTWORKS IN BRITAIN. DESPITE ITS SCALE, IT MAINTAINS A QUIET STILLNESS. IT DOES NOT DOMINATE THE ENVIRONMENT BUT APPEARS ROOTED WITHIN IT. FOR THE FOUNDER OF 1812, GORMLEY'S WORK OFFERS AN IMPORTANT PERSPECTIVE ON FORM AND PRESENCE. THE MOST ENDURING DESIGN OFTEN BEGINS WITH A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SPACE, PROPORTION AND THE HUMAN PRESENCE WITHIN THE WORLD.
