Peter Blake: Sculpture and Other Matters, the first exhibition in twenty years to be dedicated to Peter Blake’s sculpture, reveals a less familiar aspect to the work of one of the best loved and most iconic British artists, spotlighting sculptures that are by turns quirky, endearing or engaged with conceptual concerns. These works function not only as art objects, but offer starting points for imagined narratives, each with a glimmer of Blake’s typically gentle, English sense of humour.
Blake’s work in three dimensions has remained remarkably consistent over six decades of his career. An early engagement with found objects and themes of fandom begins with the seminal ‘Locker’ (1959). This sculpture, an old RAF locker covered in glamorous pin-up images, was first shown at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London in 1960 and is one of the earliest expressions of British ‘Pop’ culture. Painted wooden constructions from the early 1960s nod to Blake’s earlier years studying at Gravesend, where he was taught woodwork, while ‘Tarzan Box – “Big Iron Bird, She Come”’ (c.1965) demonstrates an early, decisive move toward assemblage and features some of the storybook characters which would recur in Blake’s work in the forthcoming decades.
For those who are well acquainted with Blake’s painting and graphic work, the artist’s ‘Found Sculpture’ series of 2012 will be most surprising. In these conceptual works, pebbles, rocks and other found objects are elevated to fine art status, each placed securely on its dedicated plinth of oak and marble. By elevating the mundane into the realm of art, Blake’s sculptures invite viewers to reconsider the significance of everyday objects, challenging conventional notions of artistic materials and prompting a reevaluation of the artistic proces
| Duration | 20 February 2024 - 13 April 2024 |
| Times | Monday to Friday 10:00–18:00 Saturday 11:00–18:00 |
| Cost | Free |
| Venue | Waddington Custot Galleries |
| Address | 11 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LT |
| Contact | / mail@waddingtoncustot.com / www.waddingtoncustot.com |