Antony
Gormley

Antony Gormley's A Case For An Angel I (1989) encapsulates his enduring themes of flight, anatomy, and technology. This monumental sculpture, boasting an impressive 8.5-metre wingspan, is meticulously crafted from a lead sheet plaster cast moulded around the artist's body and serves as a testament to Gormley's innovative approach to sculpture.

The life-size figure, firmly grounded by the weight of the material, beckons viewers to delve into its diverse symbolic meanings, hinting at the capacity to rise above earthly confines and invoking the transformative awakening of the human spirit. A Case For An Angel I is Gormley's first angelic sculpture, among many others, in his extensive body of work. Its significance is marked by Gormley's auction record achieving £5,296,250 (fees included) at Christie's in October 2017.

Standing 20 metres tall with a wingspan extending 54 metres and crafted from 200 tonnes of steel, Antony Gormley's Angel Of The North (Life-size Maquette) (1996) serves as a human-scaled study and has become an iconic emblem representing the North of England. While rooted in Gormley's Catholic background, the angel motif transcends its ecclesiastical connotations through industrial materials, alluding to the intricate relationship between man and machine, drawing inspiration from Renaissance inquiries that sought to comprehend the human body through mathematical and geometric interpretations while reflecting humanity's connection to technological advancement.

Two of Gormley's Angel Of The North (Life-Size Maquette) sculptures have sold on the secondary market and are among his top-selling works realising £3,401,250 (fees included) at Christie’s in October 2011 and £2,281,250 (fees included) at Sotheby’s in July 2008 indicating a positive sales trend. Additionally, a smaller bronze rendition of the work created one year later in 1997 also finds its placement among Gormley's top-selling works realising £2,860,600 (fees included) at Sotheby's in March 2018 and £1,002,407 (fees included) at Sotheby's in May 2014, demonstrating a 185% increase in these two sales.

Comprising five life-size cast iron elements, Building 6-10 (2015) delves into the depths of the human condition through a series of stacked horizontal layers. They serve as symbolic representations of both the construction of the human skeleton and towering architectural structures, intertwining the metaphorical relationship between the human body and grandeur. The individual structures of Building 6-10 carefully integrate materials sourced from Gormley's studio and London, contributing to their overall structural composition. This artwork encapsulates the fundamental essence of architecture while embodying the innate qualities of strength and vulnerability within the human form.

Building 6-10 realised £1,774,637 (fees included) at Sotheby's Hong Kong in September 2018, securing its position among Gormley's highest-selling works.