Tony Cragg (1949 – )
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TROWEL 1999 Tony Cragg (1949 – ) P7261 © DACS 2023.
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CROSS-SECTION DRAWING OF FOUND OBJECT, AND OBJECT 1980 Tony Cragg (1949 – ) P3927/A © DACS 2023.
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MINSTER 1994 Tony Cragg (1949 – ) P6227 © DACS 2023.
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FORK 1999 Tony Cragg (1949 – ) P7262 © DACS 2023.
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MOTHER'S MILK II 1988 Tony Cragg (1949 – ) P5619 © DACS 2023.
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CANOE 1982 Tony Cragg (1949 – ) P4278 © DACS 2023.
Cragg was born in Liverpool. He worked as a laboratory technician for the Natural Rubber Producers Research Association before turning to formal art education in 1968. He studied at Gloucester College of Art and Design, Wimbledon School of Art and on the post-graduate sculpture course at the Royal College of Art, London. After graduation in 1977 he moved to Wuppertal, Germany, where he continues to live and work. His first teaching post was at the School of Fine Arts, Metz before moving to the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1978, where he was later appointed professor and was co-director 1989 - 2001. Cragg had his first solo exhibition at the Lisson Gallery, London in 1979 and has continued to exhibit there regularly since. His work has been shown in innumerable important group exhibitions and he has had major solo museum shows throughout the world, including the Tate Gallery, London in 1988, Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven in 1991, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte, Reina Sofia, Madrid in 1995, and Tate Gallery Liverpool in 2000. He represented Britain at the XLIII Venice Biennale in 1988 and was awarded the Turner Prize at the Tate Gallery, London the same year. He was elected a Royal Academician in 1994, and awarded the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred C Toepfer Foundation, Hamburg in 2001.
Cragg's innovative use of urban and industrial detritus opened up a new territory for sculpture at the same time as dealing with environmental and social concerns in post-industrial Britain. His first large-scale sculptures were stacks built with found and discarded building materials densely packed together to form solid cubes which could be viewed as sections of geological or archaeological strata from another age. These early works led him to using miscellaneous found items, most commonly made of plastic, to compose images of objects such as an axehead, a canoe, a vacuum cleaner, vessels and figures. Throughout the 1980s, he worked with an increasingly wide range of materials including wood, stone, cast iron, glass, aluminium and bronze. Mother's Milk II, 1988, shown in his exhibition for the Venice Biennale of the same year, is one of a number of large bronze sculptures of the late 1980s which explored vessel forms derived from laboratory flasks. These sculptures with their rounded shapes were a departure from the flat and stacked configurations which preceded them, and they appeared to both reflect Cragg's knowledge of and continued concerns with scientific matters as well as suggesting a vocabulary for the body and bodily functions. The vessel and the stacking of materials, both of which are combined in the elaborate glass sculptures of the 1990s, have been constant elements in Cragg's diverse sculptural output over the last twenty-five years.
De la Moore la Hirst: 60 de ani de sculptura Britanica (From Moore to Hirst: Sixty Years of British Sculpture), The British Council and the National Museum of Art, Bucharest 2004
Further reading:
Lynne Cooke, and an interview with the artist,Tony Cragg, Arts Council of Great Britain, London, 1987
Germano Celant, Tony Cragg, Thames and Hudson Ltd, London, 1996
Lewis Biggs, A New Thing Breathing, Tate Gallery Liverpool, 2000
Glossary
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Bronze
A metal alloy made from copper with up to two-thirds tin, often with other small amounts of other metals. Commonly used in casting. A work cast in bronze is sometimes referred to as 'a bronze'.
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Cast
To form material such as molten metal, liquid plaster or liquid plastic into a three-dimensional shape, by pouring into a mould. Also see Lost-wax casting.
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Design
The arrangement of elements or details in an artefact or a work of art.
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Sculpture
A three-dimensional work of art. Such works may be carved, modelled, constructed, or cast. Sculptures can also be described as assemblage, in the round, relief, and made in a huge variety of media. Contemporary practice also includes live elements, as in Gilbert & George 'Living Sculpture' as well as broadcast work, radio or sound sculpture.
See in
Portfolios
- Slovakia, Kosice, Kunsthalle
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/made-in-britain-2010">MADE IN BRITAIN- Albania, Tirana, National Gallery
- Greece, Athens, Benaki Museum
- China, Suzhou Museum
- China, Hong Kong Heritage Museum
- China, Xian Museum
- China, Sichuan Provincial Museum
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/third-dimension-sculpture-from-the-british-council-collection-2012">THIRD DIMENSION SCULPTURE FROM THE BRITISH COUNCIL COLLECTION- UK, Canterbury, Sidney Cooper Gallery
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/the-third-dimension-munsterland-festival-2011-2011">THE THIRD DIMENSION - MUNSTERLAND FESTIVAL 2011- Germany, Emsdetten, GALERIE MUNSTERLAND
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/passports-in-viaggio-con-larte-2009">PASSPORTS. IN VIAGGIO CON L'ARTE- Italy, Milan, Padglione D'arte Contemporanea
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/the-third-dimension-2009">THE THIRD DIMENSION- UK, London, Whitechapel Art Gallery
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/il-settimo-splendore-la-modernita-della-malinconcia-2007">IL SETTIMO SPLENDORE LA MODERNITA DELLA MALINCONCIA- Italy, Verona, Palazzo Della Ragione
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/henry-moore-epoch-and-echo-english-sculpture-in-the-20th-century-2005">HENRY MOORE EPOCH AND ECHO ENGLISH SCULPTURE IN THE 20TH CENTURY- Germany, Kunzelsau, Museum Wurth
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/de-la-moore-la-hirst-60-de-ani-de-sculptura-britanica-from-moore-to-hirst-sixty-years-of-british-sculpture-2004">DE LA MOORE LA HIRST 60 DE ANI DE SCULPTURA BRITANICA (FROM MOORE TO HIRST: SIXTY YEARS OF BRITISH SCULPTURE)- Romania, Bucharest, National Museum Of Art
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/turning-points-20th-century-british-sculpture-2004">TURNING POINTS 20TH CENTURY BRITISH SCULPTURE- Iran, Tehran, Museum Of Contemporary Art
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/field-day-sculpture-from-britain-2001">FIELD DAY SCULPTURE FROM BRITAIN- Taiwan, Taipei, Taipei Fine Arts Museum
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/tony-cragg-contemporary-sculpture-series-2001">TONY CRAGG CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE SERIES- Wales, Swansea, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/le-musee-a-lheure-anglaise-1999">LE MUSEE A L'HEURE ANGLAISE- France, Valenciennes, Musee Des Beaux Arts
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/tony-cragg-works-1987-1999-1999">TONY CRAGG WORKS 1987-1999- Finland, Tampere, Sara Hilden Art Museum
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/tony-cragg-1998">TONY CRAGG- Germany, Munich, Lenbachhaus
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/a-changed-world-1997">A CHANGED WORLD- Malta, Valletta, St James Cavalier Centre For Creativity
- Cyprus, Nicosia, Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre
- Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, National Gallery Of Zimbabwe In Bulawayo
- South Africa, Cape Town, South African National Gallery
- South Africa, Johannesburg, Johannesburg Art Gallery
- Zimbabwe, Harare, National Gallery Of Zimbabwe
- Pakistan, Lahore, The Old Fort
- Pakistan, Karachi, Hindu Gymkhana
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/voyages-sans-passeport-1996">VOYAGES SANS PASSEPORT- France, Calais, Le Channel, Galerie De L'Ancienne Poste
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/a-changing-world-50-years-of-sculpture-from-the-british-council-collection-1994">A CHANGING WORLD 50 YEARS OF SCULPTURE FROM THE BRITISH COUNCIL COLLECTION- Germany, Essen, Folkwang Museum
- Morocco, Casablanca, Espace Wafabank
- Czech Republic, Prague, Riding Hall, Prague Castle
- Russia, Moscow, New Tretyakov Museum
- Russia, St Petersburg, The Russian Museum
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/new-voices-1992">NEW VOICES- Macedonia, Skopje, Museum Of Modern Art
- Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Musuem Of Fine Arts, The House Of The Black Madonna
- Russia, Nizhny Novgorod, Kremlin Museum
- Slovakia, Bratislava, Mirbachov Palace
- Russia, St Petersburg, The Russian Museum
- Greece, Athens, Art Halls Of The Cultural Centre Of The Municipality Of Athens
- Romania, Bucharest, National Theatre Galleries
- Germany, Magdeburg, Kulturhistorisches Museum
- Spain, Jerez, Sala Pescaderia Vieja, Ayunamiento De Jerez
- Spain, Murcia, Veronicas Sala De Exposiciones
- Spain, Madrid, Centro Cultural Galileo
- Spain, Bilbao, Museo De Bellas Artes De Bilbao
- Spain, Barcelona, Centre De Art Santa Monica
- Turkey, Izmir, Izfas Gallery
- Turkey, Ankara, State Fine Arts Gallery
- Turkey, Istanbul, Istanbul Greater City Municipality Taksim Art Gallery
- Luxembourg, Musee National D'histoire Et D'art
- Belgium, Brussels, EEC Presidency Exhibition
- Belgium, Brussels, La Borschette
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/tony-cragg-sculpture-1992">TONY CRAGG SCULPTURE- Scotland, Glasgow, Centre For Contemporary Art
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/tony-cragg-1992">TONY CRAGG- Scotland, Glasgow, Centre For Contemporary Art
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/for-a-wider-world-1990">FOR A WIDER WORLD- Argentina, Buenos Aires, Museo Nacional De Bellas Artes
- Bulgaria, Sofia, SS Cyril and Methodius International Foundation
- Luxembourg, Musee National D'histoire Et D'art
- USSR, Kyiv, Ukrainian Museum of Fine Arts
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/sculptors-drawings-1984">SCULPTORS' DRAWINGS- Japan, Yokohama, Yokohama
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/1983-sao-paulo-bienal-transformations-1983">1983 SAO PAULO BIENAL - TRANSFORMATIONS- Portugal, Lisbon, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
- Mexico, Mexico City, Museo De Arte Moderno
- Brazil, Rio De Janeiro, Museu De Arte Contemporânea de Niterói (MAC)
- Brazil, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo Bienal
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/tema-celeste-1983">TEMA CELESTE- Italy, Gibellina, Museo Civico D'arte Contemporanear Di Gibellina
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/leons-de-choses-1982">LEÇONS DE CHOSES- France, Chalon-sur-Saône, Maison de la Culture de Chalon sur Saône
- France, Chambery, Musee Savoisien
- Switzerland, Berne, Kunsthalle