Tony Cragg (B. 1949)

In Turning Point, Tony Cragg explores the potential of bronze, continuing his work as a self-described ‘materialist’. ‘I call bronze the archaic plastic … when you melt bronze it’s more liquid than water. So you can cast very fine, complex forms from it. People knew this 6,000 years ago. Bronze has never lost its relevance’ (T. Cragg, quoted in M. Hudson, ‘Tony Cragg: Sculptor Who Looks Beneath the Surface’, in The Telegraph, 28 August 2012). Through its twists and gravity-defying curves, the present work exploits this ancient material to create an interplay between surface and substance. Turning Point freely supports itself on three points, as Cragg investigates the architecture of internal space, celebrating the void that flows through the sculpture with a balancing presence. Turning Point could almost be a chain, the curves linking together in harmonious and perpetual equilibrium. The form of the work remains solid and permanent, despite the dexterity with which Cragg has shaped it into an elastic shape, suggesting it could almost be full of air. With light playing upon its smooth surface, Turning Point engages the viewer through its ambiguous, elusive form.