Antony Gormley at the Royal Academy

Antony Gormley at the Royal Academy is a very challenging exhibition in a number of ways:

Clearing VII 2019

It is physically challenging because the viewer is forced to engage with the exhibits. Clearing VII is made from eight kilometres of square-section aluminum tube which coils around the space. Viewers have to pick their way through the exhibit to get to the next gallery and then find their way back. Perhaps the most demanding exhibit was undoubtedly Cave 2019 which entails stooping and feeling one's way to navigate one's way through a pitch black iron tunnel which leads to a four-metre high cave and then exit through another tunnel.

Host 2019

In comparison to most other Royal Academy exhibitions the logistical challenge of assembling some of these exhibit must have been significant. Several of these exhibits (Clearing VII, Cave and Matrix III) are on such a monumental scale that their assembly in situ involved shifting literally tons of metal and suspending many of them on the walls and from the ceiling. The greatest challenge was probably Host 2019 which transforms one of the galleries into an expanse of clay and seawater (Will the wooden floors ever recover?!). Many of these exhibits were clearly designed for this exhibition in this space. They are unique and will never be experienced in quite the same way even if they are reassembled in a different gallery.

Flesh 1990

In his concrete works Flesh, Passage and Press 1990-93, Gormley challenges the traditional notions of space and form. At first glace they look like concrete blocks, but on closer inspection they are hollow and the void in the shape of a human body: they are 'inverse sculptures' - prompting the viewer to re-evaluate the physical volume which we occupy.

The biggest take-away for me was that this exhibition challenges the norms of how viewers engage with art. It is a far cry from the RA gallery rules which are literally etched into the wall. Indeed Gormley manages to push the boundaries of what constitutes 'gallery art'.

Having previously seen Antony Gormley's famous outdoor installation masterpieces The Angel of the North and Another Place  (on Crosby Beach), I confess I was intrigued whether or not his sculptures would translate to the iconic galleries of the Royal Academy. I was not disappointed.

Me, engaging with Lost Horizon 2008