Antony Gormley and the 4th Plinth

Le opere di Antony Gormley sono cariche di inquietudine e poesia, come la fragile installazione Field che nel 1994 gli è valsa il Turner Prize, e Angel of The North, la monumentale scultura all’aperto tra le più amate della Gran Bretagna. Dal suo studio londinese l’artista presenta il progetto One & Other con cui, nell’estate del 2009, ha trasformato il quarto plinto di Trafalgar Square in una sorta di basamento magico. Predisposto nel 1841 per ospitare una statua equestre mai realizzata, dalla fine degli anni Novanta questo basamento è stato effettivamente usato per ospitare sculture temporanee, dando avvio a un prestigioso programma che ad oggi ha visto cimentarsi importanti artisti internazionali quali Marc Quinn, The works of Antony Gormley are imbued with both unease and poetry, such as the fragile installation Field, which earned him the Turner Prize in 1994, and Angel of the North, one of Britain’s most beloved monumental outdoor sculptures. From his London studio, the artist presents the project One & Other, with which, in the summer of 2009, he transformed Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth into a kind of magical pedestal. Originally designed in 1841 to support an equestrian statue that was never realized, the plinth has, since the late 1990s, been used to display temporary artworks, launching a prestigious program that has featured major international artists such as Marc Quinn, Thomas Schütte, and, in 2010, Yinka Shonibare. Revisiting the tradition of Speaker’s Corner, Gormley created the most eclectic, multifaceted, and democratic portrait of the United Kingdom by recruiting over 2,400 volunteers from across the country via the web. For one hundred days, each participant had one hour to become a living sculpture.