Lot 136 N

Illustration of an different cast.

Right from the start, Tony Cragg classified his relationship to organic aspects and their rendition with the decision to copy traces of reduced forms in nature with the certainty 'that plastics have the strength of reconstruction and can in themselves become an instrument of true imagination.' (Germano Celant) In that respect, Cragg has mainly implemented the characteristics of the material as a prerequisite for his works in order to develop a visual vocabulary that has become typical for him over the years, starting with the material pictures made from finds of wood waste up to self-developed and invented shapes and objects. The range of stable plastics and the infinite possibilities of processing and designing them allows the sculptor to develop the respective materials necessary for his works. To date, Cragg produces astonishing, hitherto unimaginable, almost baroque sculptures, given the dominance of the material, be it plastics, wood, marble, glass, bronze, or steel. The illusion in the invented forms is striking and is forcefully staged by the artist. The question as to 'how' and 'from what' exists paralell to the question concerning the sense of the shape. However, Cragg never loses sight of aesthetics, the most important aspect being the nature of the surface.
This is especially the case with cast-iron sculptures such as this one. In contrast to hard plastics or glass, the cast leaves a very sensitive and vulnerable surface and at the same time a powdery patina that the smoothened steel material produces of its own accord during the oxidation process. So Tony Cragg entrusts the aesthetic appearance of his work to the influence of the chemical reaction.