62 (h) x 99 x 59 in
William Tucker
Skulptur
Skulptur
Press release
The Buchmann Gallery is delighted to announce the second solo show of works by the British/American sculptor William Tucker (*1935 in Cairo, lives in Williamsburg, MA).
In the 1970s, Tucker belonged to the highly influential circle of English sculptors that included Philip King and Tim Scott, who were presented as the ‘New Generation’ in the eponymous exhibition at London’s Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1965. This group had a decisive impact on the development of abstract sculpture and was largely instrumental in broadening the concept of sculpture. In 1966, William Tucker was invited to take part in the seminal exhibition Primary Structures at the Jewish Museum in New York, a decisive moment in American Minimal Art. During this period he also made a name for himself as a theoretician, critic and curator. In 1972, Tucker published The Language of Sculpture as well as reviews and essays in Studio International, the British counterpart of ARTFORUM. In 1975, he organised The Condition of Sculpture show at the Hayward Gallery in London.
William Tucker’s current work, which is being presented in this solo show, references the human body. Against the background of his earlier work this may seem surprising. However, Tucker approaches the line between figuration and abstraction very openly and does not view it as a contradiction. The reference is fluid, changing, but it does always come back to the human figure. “Any sculpture is a figure in a sense, if it reads as a total, a unity.” (William Tucker, First Magazine, 1961)
Despite their figurative reference, the shape of the sculptures cannot immediately be deciphered and named. They do not depict a simple, clearly readable human shape or gesture. Instead, the sculptures open up a wide field of potential associations, which gives them their insistent and unique physical corporeality. William Tucker’s sculptures have a presence that puts our own body in relation to them and thus heightens our awareness of it.
His engagement with the nature, structure and mass of the human body led Tucker to create a series of sculptures, for example Xanthe (1992) and Oedipus III (2014), which are determined more by their abstract shape than their immediately apparent form.
The imposing sculpture Frenhofer (1995) is one of the artist’s largest torsos. Other pieces from this body of work are Pamona in the Tate London collection, Demeter in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art New York, and Eve in the Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden Wuppertal.
Originally modelled in plaster, Tucker cast his piece Tauromachy (2008) in bronze for the first time for this show. Tauromachy started as a fist, but it suggests a charging bull as in Goya’s Tauromachy etchings. The immediate physical presence of the sculpture also gives it a tangible muscular strength.
Oedipus III (2014) sees William Tucker taking a new approach to surfaces: this piece is finished in an unusually intense red colour.
“Tucker’s sculpture asks fundamental questions as to what sculpture is and what it can be.” (Joy Sleeman, The Sculpture of William Tucker, Lund Humphries, The Henry Moore Foundation, 2007)
Sculptures by William Tucker can be seen in several collections, including the Tate Gallery in London, the Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art New York, the Metropolitan Museum New York, the Nasher Sculpture Center Dallas and the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney.
The Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao will be presenting a major show of William Tucker’s work from 9 June until 14 September 2015.
For additional information on the artist or for visual materials on the works in the exhibition, please do not hesitate to contact the gallery at any time.
Pressemitteilung
Die Buchmann Galerie freut sich, die zweite Einzelausstellung mit dem britisch/amerikanischen Bildhauer William Tucker (*1935 in Cairo, lebt in Williamsburg, MA) anzukündigen.
Tucker zählte in den 1970er Jahren zu dem einflussreichen Kreis englischer Bildhauer wie Philip King oder Tim Scott, die als ‘New Generation’ in der gleichnamigen Ausstellung in der Whitechapel Art Gallery London 1965 vorgestellt wurden und entscheidende Impulse für die Entwicklung der abstrakten Skulptur und die Erweiterung des Skulpturenbegriffes setzten. William Tucker war 1966 eingeladen zu der wegweisenden Ausstellung Primary Structures im Jewish Museum in New York, dem entscheidenden Moment für die Amerikanische Minimal Art. In dieser Zeit wurde er auch als Theoretiker, Kritiker und Ausstellungsmacher bekannt. Tucker veröffentlichte 1972 The Language of Sculpture und publizierte Reviews und Essays in Studio International, das englische Gegenstück zu ARTFORUM. In der Hayward Gallery London organisierte er 1975 The Condition of Sculpture.
Das aktuelle Werk von William Tucker, das in der Galerie präsentiert wird, hat einen Bezug zur menschlichen Figur. Vor dem Hintergrund der frühen Arbeiten ist dies überraschend. Doch die Abgrenzung zwischen Figuration und Abstraktion behandelt Tucker offen und sieht darin keinen Widerspruch. Die Bezüge sind fließend, verändern sich, aber kommen immer wieder zurück auf die menschliche Figur. “Any sculpture is a figure in a sense, if it reads as a total, a unity.” (William Tucker, First Magazine, 1961)
Trotz ihres figurativen Bezuges sind die Skulpturen in ihrer Form nicht sofort zu entschlüsseln und benennen. Sie verweisen nicht auf eine einfache, klar ablesbare menschliche Form oder Geste. Die Skulpturen eröffnen vielmehr ein weites Feld möglicher Assoziationen und erlangen dadurch ihre eindringliche und einzigartige Physis. William Tuckers Skulpturen haben eine Präsenz, die unseren Körper in Bezug zu ihnen stellt und so bewusst macht.
Die Beschäftigung mit der Natur, Struktur und Masse des menschlichen Körpers hat Tucker zu einer Reihe von Skulpturen wie Xanthe (1992) oder Oedipus III (2014) geführt, die eher durch ihre abstrakte als durch ihre offensichtliche Form bestimmt sind.
Die imposante Skulptur Frenhofer (1995) ist eine der größten Torsi des Künstlers. Zu der gleichen Werkgruppe zählt Pamona in der Sammlung der Tate London, Demeter, in der Sammlung des Museum of Modern Art New York oder Eve im Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden Wuppertal.
Ursprünglich in Gips modelliert hat Tucker für die Ausstellung seine Arbeit Tauromachy (2008) erstmals in Bronze gegossen. Tauromachy begann als Faust, aber suggeriert einen angreifenden Stier, wie in den Tauromachy Radierungen von Goya. Auch in ihrer unmittelbaren Physis wirkt die Skulptur ungeheuer kraftvoll.
Eine neuartige Richtung der Bearbeitung von Oberflächen schlägt William Tucker mit Oedipus III (2014) ein, die eine ungewöhnlich intensiv-rote Farbe hat.
“Tucker’s sculpture asks fundamental questions as to what sculpture is and what it can be.” (Joy Sleeman, The Sculpture of William Tucker, Lund Humphries, The Henry Moore Foundation, 2007)
Skulpturen von William Tucker befinden sich unter anderem in der Sammlung der Tate Gallery in London, des Guggenheim Museum, des Museum of Modern Art New York, des Metropolitan Museum New York, dem Nasher Sculpture Center Dallas und der Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney.
Das Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao zeigt ab dem 9. Juni bis 14. September eine große Überblicksausstellung zu William Tuckers Werken.
Für weitere Informationen über den Künstler und für Bildmaterial zu den Arbeiten in der Ausstellung können Sie sich gerne jederzeit mit der Galerie in Verbindung setzen.
William Tucker
| 2018 | Kosme de Barañano, William Tucker – Mass and Figure, Estudios Durero, 2018 |
| 2016 | Dieter Schwarz, William Tucker, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, with essays by Julia Kelly, Dieter Schwarz and William Tucker, 2016 |
| 2015 | Kosme de Barañano, Tucker: Masa y Figura, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2015 |
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2009 |
Marzio, Peter C. Masterpieces From The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: Director’s Choice. Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2009. Illustrated in color, p.189 |
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2007 |
Joy Sleeman, The Sculpture of William Tucker, Lund Humphries, England, 2007. |
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2005 |
Sculpture from the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, edited by Karen O. Janovy, University of Nebraska Press, 2005, pages 185-187. |
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2004 |
A Vision for 21st Century Sculpture, 10 year anniversary book, Sculpture at Goodwood, West Sussex, 2004. The Sculptural Idea, James J. Kelly, Fourth Edition, Waveland Press, Inc., Long Grove, Illinois, 2004. |
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2003 |
Alan Windsor, British Sculptors of the Twentieth Century, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Aldershot, England, 2003. |
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1999 |
Michael Auping, House of Sculpture, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX, 1999, page 12, illustrated page 6. |
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Brooke Barrie, Contemporary Outdoor Sculpture, Rockport Publishers, Gloucester, MA, 1999, pages 152-153. |
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1998 |
Tony Birks, The Alchemy of Sculpture, Marston House, 1998. |
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1996 |
Irving Sandler, Art of the Postmodern Era: from the late 1960s to the Early 1990s, HarperCollins Publishers, 1996. |
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1993 |
Sam Hunter & John Jacobus, Modern Art, Third Edition, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1993, page 337. |
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1991 |
Daniel Wheeler, Art Since Mid Century 1945 to the Present, The Vendome Press, New York, 1991. |
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1985 |
Dore Ashton, American Art Since 1945, Oxford University Press, New York, 1985. |
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1984 |
The Seventh Dalhousie Drawing Exhibition: Actual Size, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1984. John McEwen, Sculptors’ Drawings, The British Council, London 1984. Frank Gettings, Drawings 1974-84, Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., 1984. Judith K. Collischan van Wagner, Reflections: New Conceptions of Nature, Hillwood Art Gallery, Long Island University, Greenvale, NY, 1984. |
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1983 |
Artists Choose Artists II, CDS Gallery, New York, 1983. Judith K. Collischan van Wagner, Monumental Drawings by Sculptors, Hillwood Art Gallery, Long Island University, Greenvale, NY, 1983. |
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1981 |
Sandy Nairne & Nicholas Serota, ed., British Sculpture in the Twentieth Century, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 1981.
John Elderfield, New Work on Paper I, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1981.
Il Luogo della Forma: Nove Scultoi a Castelvecchio, Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona, 1981. |
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1980 |
Skulptur im 20. Jahrhundert, Wenkenpark Riehen, Basel, 1980. |
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1979 |
The Prospect Mountain Show: An Homage to David Smith, Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, New York, 1979. |
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1977 |
William Tucker, Sculptures, Arts Council of Great Britain, London, 1977-1978. |
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1972 |
The Condition of Sculpture: A Selection of Recent Sculpture by Younger British and Foreign Artists, Hayward Gallery Arts, Council of Great Britain, London, 1972.
William Tucker, British Pavilion XXXVI Venice Biennale, 1972. |
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1967 |
Guggenheim International Exhibition 1967: Sculpture from Twenty Nations, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1967. |
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1966 |
Sculpture in the Open Air, Greater London Council: Battersea Park, London 1966. |
