As a counterpoint to the presentation of the retrospective of the Bavarian-Austrian sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736-1783), the museum displays a group of sculptures by British artist Tony Cragg, exhibited in the Cour Marly and Cour Puget inside the Louvre. In addition, a monumental sculpture by the artist was produced specifically for the exhibition. It is directly under the pyramid of the Louvre.
An exhibition at the Belvedere in Vienna in 2008 first showed works of these two sculptors together. In the Louvre, the visual dialogue relates to Messerschmidt's "Character heads". "Mixed feelings" (2010) by Cragg shows, similar to the masterpieces of his predecessor from the 18th Century, the distorted, expressive human face from a certain angle.
The other seven sculptures by Cragg in the Cour Marly Cour Puget reflect the wider use of materials, colors, and methods of the sculptor.
In 1988, Tony Cragg was awarded the Turner Prize and represented Britain at Venice that year. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1994. In September 2008, Cragg opened a sculpture garden in Wuppertal.
28. January – 24. April 2011
Louvre
www.louvre.fr
News-Detail
March 2011
Tony Cragg in the Louvre: Figure out / Figure in (FR)
Tony Cragg: Sharing; Bronze; H. 100 cm; W. 110 cm; D. 120 cm; Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac 2005 © Charles Duprat