Tony Cragg’s fourteenth solo exhibition opens at Lisson Gallery this weekend, installed in both of their West London locations.
The works on view trace the manifold evolution in Cragg’s work, building on his exploration of the relationship between organic and geometric forms in his work. New approaches will be on view with works that are extensions of the artist’s longer-term projects such as Early Forms, Rational Beings, and Manipulations.
Presented alongside these older series will be recent developments in Cragg’s practice in glass, white onyx, and wood, building on his unique approach to material and belief in sculpture as a fluid medium.
“Sculpture is not about practicalities, it doesn’t have to be functional,” Cragg says of his practice in this video interview. “Only sculpture just takes on forms that just grow into space and become psychological and emotional.”
He goes on to explain his relationship with materials and the space his work inhabits.
“I never thought of the material as being something you used to represent something else,” he explains. “The material was something in itself and that applied to all materials.”
This is a chance to see a survey of Cragg’s work ahead of his exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in 2017, which, by the time it opens, will have been 15 years in the making.
Tony Cragg will be on view at Lisson Gallery from October 1 – November 5, 2016.
Videography by Laura Bushell.