Synopses & Reviews
As an artist, Anthony Caro revolutionized our perception of sculpture; as a teacher, Caro inspired a generation of accomplished artists such as Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, and Rachel Whiteread. This complete career monograph examines 50 of Caro’s most iconic works, selected in conjunction with the artist before his death in 2013.
Each work featured is accompanied by Caro’s commentary, in which he identifies his influences, aims, and stories behind the work’s creation, as well as archival material and specially commissioned documentary photographs. Interspersed throughout the book are notes on Caro’s exhibitions and contributions from a range of artists and critics, including Kapoor, Gormley, and Whiteread, along with Richard Deacon, Clement Greenberg, and Michael Fried.
Synopsis
A comprehensive monograph on the pioneering artist Anthony Caro.
Regarded as the greatest British artist of his generation and represented in museum collections all over the world, Anthony Caro revolutionized sculpture in the 1960s, by taking the radical step of removing the plinth and placing his work directly on the ground not only changed our relationship with the artwork, but the direction of sculpture itself.
This beautifully designed book includes a comprehensive survey of Caro's work over a period of more than half a century - ranging from his time as Henry Moore's assistant in the early 1950s right up until his death in 2013.
More than fifty of his masterworks are each examined in detail through never before published archival installation images and comments by the artist from the time of production or exhibition. Furthermore, a collection of specially commissioned new documentary photographs by Toby Glanville capture the processes behind the sculptor's work, from conception to production to installation and exhibition in major exhibitions and installations.
A collection of short texts by leading contemporary artists, including Antony Gormley, Liz Larner, Joel Shapiro, Simon Starling, Frank Stella, Rebecca Warren and Richard Wentworth demonstrate the influence of Caro's work, and a series of key essays by renowned critics and art historians, such as Clement Greenberg and Michael Fried, provide an unparalleled overview of his career and complete this intimate celebration of the artist.
About the Author
Anthony Caro played a pivotal role in the development of twentieth‐century sculpture. After studying sculpture at the Royal Academy Schools in London, he worked as assistant to Henry Moore. He came to public attention with a show at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1963, where he exhibited large abstract sculptures brightly painted and standing directly on the ground so that they engaged the spectator on a one‐to‐one basis. This was a radical departure from the way sculpture had hitherto been seen and paved the way for future developments in three‐dimensional art.
Toby Glanville’s photography is featured in numerous publications, including Family (Phaidon, 2005), Actual Life (2003), Then Things Went Quiet (2003) and The Lebanese Kitchen (Phaidon, 2012). Collections in which his work is held include the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Council, British Land, the Bruce Bernard Collection and the National Portrait Gallery, London.