"What I try to give form to is the subjective experiences of living behind our faces.."
Biography
Antony Gormley was born in London in 1950. After schooling at Ampleforth College in Yorkshire, he completed a degree in archaeology, anthropology and history of art at Trinity College Cambridge. Following his graduation, he began what would be a 3 year journey through India and Sri Lanka to study Buddhism. Here, he studied Buddhist Vispassana meditation, an ancient technique of healing and self transformation, specifically focusing on the connection between mind and body.
Returning to London in 1974, Gormley attended the central school of art and Goldsmith’s College, before completing his postgraduate course in sculpture at the Slade School of Art in the late 1970’s. It was at this time that Gormley first used lead as a medium for his work. During the mid 1980’s, Gormley was using a range of materials such as concrete, iron and clay and his first exhibition was held in 1981 at Whitechapel Gallery in London.
Deeply engaged with bodily sensation and memory, the human figure has been the dominant theme in Gormleys work since the 1980’s. Frequently using his own body as the subject of his work, Gormley’s innovative use of the body explores the relationship between self and other. Instead of a traditional approach of the human figure, Gormley challenges the viewer by presenting large scale installations. Such highly acclaimed works include Critical Mass (1995), Inside Australia (2002), Domain Field (2003), Another Place (2005) & Blind Light (2007).
Gormley has had solo and group exhibitions in Europe, Scandinavia, America, Japan and Australia and his sculptures have been, or are currently, displayed in numerous public spaces all over the world. His artwork has been recognised globally, (recipient of the Turner Prize, 1994 and South Bank Prize for Visual Art, 1999), and is an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College and Jesus College, Cambridge. His career is one that has spanned nearly 40 years as Antony Gormley continuously asks the question,
‘Where does the human being fit into the scheme of things?’