Untitled

A monolithic sculpture consisting of a complex interplay of forms and an engagement with technology and science fiction. A half-section cylinder base supporting a concave-convex vertical screen. The highly polished surface picks up and reflects the surroundings, distorting light and images.

In contrast to earlier work, here Paolozzi pays respect to the extreme finish of sculpture from modernist times, eliminating traces of manufacture and notions of craftsmanship. In fact, the sculpture was produced by Juby Engineering in Ipswich for Paolozzi in 1967. At the time the work was made, Paolozzi was teaching in the Ceramics Department in the Royal College of Art and using a model-making technique, known as sledging. [1] This is a process of taking a cast of an existing shape or profile.

Paolozzi produced a maquette of the sculpture using two ‘sledged’ sections that were joined together. The maquette was then scaled up by the engineers, it was made in steel and then chromium plated. The work is similar and related to one in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland, titled Kimo, also made in 1967. However, this work remained untitled.

Paolozzi was born on 7 March 1924, in Leith near Edinburgh, and is one of the most important British artists of the late twentieth century. He rose to prominence in the 1950s as part of the famous Independent Group of artists associated with London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts. Paolozzi is credited as one of the pioneers of Pop art, however we currently only have a print by the artist in the collection. The sculpture was donated by David Queensbury on behalf of the Paolozzi Foundation.

Calvin Winner, December 2020

[1] Correspondence with David Queensbury, 27.10.20