Points of View – Tony Cragg
The three bronze columns by Tony Cragg are each about five and a half meters high. They are arranged in the shape of a triangle, each equidistant from the other. The forms of the three columns appear fluid and yet as if frozen in motion. The title of the work, “Points of View,” already suggests that the impression you have of this work of art changes depending on the angle from which it is approached. Viewers can – and should – walk between the columns to view them from all sides. Depending on one’s perspective, familiar forms emerge again and again – faces in profile that appear and fade away, as in an ambiguous image.
Monheim’s “Points of View” blends harmoniously into the hectic surroundings. In the context of the functionally designed bus station, the densely built-up space of the shopping center, and the open shopping arcade, the work of art forms a welcome visual contrast. It adds a creative element to the very functional space, one that serves no practical function, but only serves to inspire viewers and give them cause to pause a while.
About the artist
Tony Cragg is a master at playing with the contrast between the static and the dynamic and with abstract forms that, have representational, often almost human-looking features. The columns designed especially for Monheim am Rhein fit into the group of works entitled "Points of View," which Tony Cragg has been developing in ever new forms since 2002. They are often grouped as constellations of three, but can also be found as individual sculptures.
"In order to decide on the form and structure of many things, we will need sculpture and sculptural thinking. I’d like to apply sculptural thinking to biomechanics, to government institutions, social structures, and so on." – Tony Cragg
Tony Cragg was born in Liverpool in 1949, but has lived and worked in Wuppertal since the late 1970s. His works have also been shown in numerous exhibitions since the 1970s. Significant solo exhibitions and retrospectives in more recent years include the following:
2009 Tony Cragg – Second Nature, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe; bronze sculptures, Museum der Moderne Salzburg
2011 Tony Cragg: Sculptures and Drawings. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland
2011 Tony Cragg – Figure out / Figure in, Louvre, Paris, France; Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst, Duisburg, entitled here: Dinge im Kopf
2016 Parts of the World, retrospective, Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal
2016/17 Tony Cragg. Unnatural Selection, Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt
2017 Tony Cragg: Esculturas y Dibujos, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havanna, Kuba; Museum Ludwig Koblenz, entitled here: Tony Cragg. Sculptures and Works on Paper
2022 Tony Cragg – Sculpture: Body and Soul, Albertina, Vienna