Richard Deacon, R.A. (b. 1949)

'The way that I work, seems to be to start, if not from nothing, from minimal conditions. They're not amorphous, pure mass like lumps of clay, neither do they have the phenomenal strength of rock or a piece of nature. They have a certain independence. Making them into shapes is an act of will on my part' (the artist quoted in Richard Deacon Talking About For Those Who Have Ears, No. 2 and Other Works, London, 1985, p. 4).