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Artworks
Phyllida Barlow
Untitled: Mantlestacked; 2020, 2020Cement, hessian scrim, PVA, paint, plaster, plywood, sand, steel and timber175 x 50 x 50 cmCourtesy the artist and Hauser & WirthExhibited price 80,000.00Further images
Throughout her long career, Barlow’s work has reacted against the formality and monumentality of the traditions of sculpture. This is not only evident in the visual language and form of her works but also in her employment of materials far removed from those related to formal sculpture.
Throughout her long career, Barlow’s work has reacted against the formality and monumentality of the traditions of sculpture. This is not only evident in the visual language and form of her works but also in her employment of materials far removed from those related to formal sculpture.
This can be seen in untitled:mantlestacked; 2020, through her utilisation of inexpensive materials – plywood, timber, plaster sand, cement, scrim and paint. She deliberately reveals the process of forming the work, with the application of colour being almost gestural. Appearing to teeter on its plinth, the ‘hand-made’ quality of this work shifts it away from the norms of serenity and beauty and instead creates a different energy, charged with instability.
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1944, Phyllida Barlow studied at the Chelsea College of Art (1960 – 1963) and the Slade School of Art (1963 – 1966). She later taught at both schools and was Professor of Fine Art and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the latter until 2009. In February 2019, Barlow created a critically acclaimed solo exhibition entitled cul-de-sac in The Royal Academy’s Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Galleries.
