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Henry Moore – Late Large Forms – Gagosian Gallery

Henry Moore - Large Two Forms

HENRY MOORE
Large Two Forms, 1966
Bronze
141 11/16 x 240 3/16 x 171 5/16 inches (360 x 610 x 435 cm)
Ed. of 4
Installation at Gagosian Gallery Britannia Street
© The Henry Moore Foundation

Henry Moore – Late Large Forms – Gagosian Gallery Gagosian Gallery NY, in collaboration with The Henry Moore Foundation, presents a major exhibition of large-scale sculptures by Henry Moore. November 20, 2012 – January 19, 2013.]]>

Source: Gagosian Gallery NY

A pioneer of modern British sculpture, Moore engaged the abstract, the surreal, the primitive andthe classical in vigorous corporeal forms that are as accessible and familiar as they are avantgarde.His monumental sculptures celebrated the power of organic forms at a time whentraditional representation was largely eschewed by the vanguard art establishment. Theoverwhelming physicality of their scale and forceful presence promotes a charged relationbetween sculpture, site and viewer. “Reclining Figure: Hand” (1979) is immediately identifiable as ahuman form despite its modulated stylization. The rounded, cloud-like body, which contrasts with a“knife-edge” head derived from bird bone, attests to Moore’s more exploratory impulses whencompared to “Reclining Connected Forms” (1969), where he alludes to body parts using thevocabulary of mechanical components. “Large Two Forms” (1966) takes its shape from flints,whereas “Large Spindle Piece” (1974) reveals an interest in both natural and man-made objects.

It was Moore’s intention that these large-scale works be interacted with, viewed close-up, andeven touched. Given their heft and mass, they are most commonly sited outdoors, subject to theeffects of changing light, weather, and landscape. But seen within the pristine white environmentof the gallery, the contrasting shapes, patinas and sheer scale of the sculptures are more keenlyfelt. Brimming with latent energy, their richly textured surfaces and sensual, rippling arcs andconcavities can be seen to new effect.

This exhibition also includes a number of maquettes and found objects from Moore’s studio in ruralHertfordshire, which he called his “library of natural forms.” Crafted from plaster and Plasticine,these small-scale models were a vital step in realizing great sculptural schema. Fragments ofbone, flint, and shell provided Moore with aesthetic inspiration: the curve and texture of animalbone was cast as the neck and head of Maquette for Seated Woman: Thin Neck (1960), and a pieceof flint from the local sheep fields was used to create the open and pointed forms of Maquette forSpindle Piece (1968).

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Richard Serra at the Gagosian Gallery (exhibition, 2008)

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Henry Moore - Late Large Forms - Gagosian Gallery