Museum Artium shows the Exhibition 'Between You and Me' ~ by Antony Gormley

Written by Ingmar Rattenwald Monday, 26 December 2011 21:21

VITORIA-GASTEIZ, SPAIN - Artium, Basque Centre-Museum of Contemporary Art presents the exhibition 'Between You And Me', by Antony Gormley (North Gallery, until August 30), a selection of works by this English artist who is considered to be one of the great renovators of European sculpture. Over the last 25 years, Gormley has revitalised the human figure in sculpture based on his perception of the human body as a place of memory and transformation. The central theme of his work is the individual and his position in the universe and Gormley’s creations are full of great symbolic intention, from the forcefulness of the figures in iron and lead to the lightness and fragility of those made with rods or clay.

Between You And Me, the first travelling exhibition of Gormley's work in Europe, is a coproduction of ARTIUM (Vitoria-Gasteiz), Kunsthal (Rotterdam) and Musée d’Art Moderne (St. Etienne), with the collaboration of Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac (Paris, Salzburg) and the sponsorship of the Provincial Council of Alava, Ministry of Culture, Mondragon, Naturgas and EITB.

Antony Gormley (London 1950) graduated in Archaeology, Anthropology and History from Trinity College, Cambridge and after a period in India, where he studied meditation, he studied art at the Central School of Art, Goldsmith College and at the Slade School of Fine Art. Among other awards, he won the prestigious Turner Prize in 1994. Gormley regularly uses his own body as a model, tool and material, and since the Nineties, his commitment to the human condition has led him to produce large-scale installations that reflect the nature of the collective body and one's relationship with others. His latest works relate more to energy systems, fields and vectors than to his former preference for mass and defined volume.

The exhibition Antony Gormley offers at Artium features two large installations, possibly two of the most significant works of his career: Critical Mass II (1995) and European Field (1993). In addition, there are earlier works ranging from Bread Line (1979) to Seeds III (1989) and other recent works such as Quantum Void II (2008). The exhibition features the piece Reflection II (2008), which is on show between the exterior of the Centre-Museum and the interior of the Cube Artium cafeteria, and Touch III (2008), on show in the hallway of the headquarters of EITB (Basque radio and television company) in Bilbao.

ARTIUM Museum is located in the centre of Vitoria-Gasteiz, next to the city’s Medieval Quarter and the main business and entertainment areas of the city. Together with the Montehermoso Culture Centre and the Playing Card, Archaeology, Natural History museums, all situated within the Medieval Quarter, ARTIUM also forms part of the city's cultural axis. The Museum's architect, José Luis Catón , opted to create a large, open space for public use. As in the 18th-century Plaza de España and the Plaza de la Provincia, this would provide the inhabitants of the densely populated city centre with a place for relaxation and social intercourse. Located at the North and South sides of this place, you can see two sculptures by Jorge Oteiza, Mirador mirando, and by Vicente Larrea, Broca Kenkenes. Visit : http://www.artium.org/

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