TONY CRAGG AT THE BENAKI MUSEUM

Last night I attended the Tony Cragg talk and exhibition opening at The Benaki Museum.

There is a sense of structure at the heart of all his pieces: often the linear plane. He normally uses these elements to create a sense of a modular unit comprising the whole, no doubt as a result of his scientific background as he explained in his talk: where he always has an awareness of structures at the microscopic level, as orbiting atoms. I liked this notion, that there is intrinsic motion in all that’s motionless, and his sculptures seek to bring this truth to light.

What I really liked though, was that even though the works are comprised of linear, geometric planes, their final feel is utterly curvaceous, sumptuous and even tantalising. It is clear he is a lover of the female form! I can see a woman in all his pieces. My absolute favourite piece in the show is certainly ‘Georgia O’keeffe-esque’ if you catch my drift! (see first work below). It’s a sculpture that is a beautiful ‘she’, in the most intimate sense, an unraveling flower that moves and unfolds from every angle with an utterly sensitive core, it is an endless story full of secrets, if a sculpture can do that, you know you have a very special creation in front of you.