The splendid rooms of the Museo Correr will be the setting for the first major Italian retrospective dedicated to one of the greatest of living sculptors: Sir Anthony Caro (New Malden, Surrey, 1924).

The versatile British artist has radically “revolutionised” his art. After a strictly figurative beginning, under the influence of his teacher, Henry Moore, he drifted away from sculptural tradition to create revolutionary assemblages, welded and bolted together, painted in bright colours and positioned on the floor within the viewer’s space; these were abstract works but rich in ideal content. This new, fascinating sculptural language established him as a key figure in the development of 20th century sculpture alongside David Smith, Mark Di Suvero and Richard Serra.

His favourite material is steel, but Caro also experiments with many other materials, including bronze, wood, paper and lead. His assemblages of two-dimensional metal elements became the emblem of new British sculpture, a starting point and influence for all the later generations.

A symbol of all that is new and modern in sculpture, Anthony Caro is present in all the most important international events: it is worth recalling his first personal show at André Emmerich in New York in 1964, his participation, as the only sculptor, at the British pavilion of the 1966 edition of the Venice Biennale, the retrospective at the MoMA in New York in 1975, the 1984 exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London, and, finally, his work with Normal Foster for the Millennium Bridge. In 2004, the Tate Modern in London celebrated his 80th birthday; now it will be Venice to celebrate the charismatic personality of Sir Anthony Caro.

Organised by British Council  Supported by Gagosian Gallery Commissaries Gabriella Belli, Gary Tinterow

Collection Artist(s)

Glossary

  • 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'.

  • Edition

    All copies of a book, print, portfolio, sculpture, etc., issued or produced at one time or from a single set of type. Printed works can be made in an edition of between one and many thousands of copies. With most printing techniques the plate or screen will become worn if very many prints are made, so to maintain quality (and exclusivity) editions of original prints are usually kept below one hundred copies and normally average between thirty and fifty copies. Prints made up of several different plates can be extremely complicated and time-consuming to edition, so in these cases editions are kept low for practical reasons. Sculptural editions are a set of cast sculptures taken from the same mould or master. These editions are usually much lower, consisting of no more than six casts. Though each cast in an edition might have a lower value than a unique piece, it may be a more effective way of offsetting costs of an expensive process such as bronze casting.

  • Metal

    Metal is a medium frequently used by artists to make art works - from sculpture to printmaking. Surfaces can display an array of colours and textures, and are capable of being polished to a high gloss; metal can be melted, cast, or fused, hammered into thin sheets, or drawn into wire.

  • 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.