Tony Cragg - 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale London Monday, June 27, 2016 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Private Collection

  • Catalogue Essay

    A winding monument to figure and form, Points of View, is mesmerising example of Tony Cragg’s work. This bronze sculpture uses its base as the central point from which three columns rise; curving and fracturing in an upwards spiral, they impose a grand sense of scale upon the audience. As the viewer engages and walks around the sculpture, faces emerge from the columns and then just as quickly fade back into the core of the sculpture. In doing so, the artist intended to symbolize human nature and the multiplicity of thought. The energetic quality of his work is created though the carving of the sculpture in wood and then cast in bronze that is highly polished.

    Tony Cragg explained that in contemporary sculpture, 'we have gone beyond the stage where we can represent things in sculpture. We have to find new means of expression, a new visual language' (T. Cragg, quoted in R. Conway Morris, 'Inventing a New Visual Language', The New York Times, 13 October 2010). In this manner, Cragg regards his practice with an absolute dedication; this is in tandem with the free and adventurous spirit of his creative mind. Thus, Points of View, is a synergetic balance of form, perspective, materials and ideas that blend together in a totemic yet ephemeral masterpiece.

157

Points of View

2007
bronze
108 x 60 x 63.5 cm (42 1/2 x 23 5/8 x 25 in.)
Incised 'Tony Cragg' on the base. This work is from an edition of 5.

Estimate
£150,000 - 200,000 ‡♠

Sold for £125,000

Contact Specialist
Henry Highley
Head of Sale
+ 44 20 7318 4061

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale

London Auction 28 June 2016