Exhibition: Anthony Caro: The Inspiration of Architecture

This new exhibition develops a fertile dialogue between Caro’s sculpture and the unique character of Soane’s building.

Anthony Caro (1924-2013), widely regarded as one of the 20th century’s most influential sculptors, is the subject of Pitzhanger’s spring exhibition, opening on what would have been his 99th birthday.

Caro heralded a revolution in sculpture in the 1960s, redefining what sculpture was and what it could be. His abstract constructions in painted steel overturned conventional ideas about materials, methods, surface, scale and space. Architecture was an important source of his inspiration, which he described as “perhaps the purest abstract visual form.”

The exhibition will focus on the resurgence and development of architectural themes within Caro’s sculpture, comprising 16 key works created between 1983 and 2013. The pieces explore contained space and its relation to the human figure; architectural features such as passages, doors and steps in the form of sculpture; the use of specific materials – notably Caro’s use of coloured Perspex, which echoes Soane’s use of stained glass, as well as steel, wood, concrete, stoneware and brass; and the relationship between exterior and interior areas.

This exhibition follows Pitzhanger’s series responding to the design and architecture of Pitzhanger, which has also included exhibitions by Anish Kapoor, Julian Opie and Es Devlin.