Copenhagen
Editions

Significant, as Antony Gormley’s first major print project in nearly 16 years, the ten prints comprising Copenhagen Editions were created by Antony Gormley during his 2007 stay in Copenhagen. The series of 10 lithographs feature core motifs from Gormley's oeuvre, such as elongated, solo figures and amniotic babies, alongside more abstract fields, comprising chaotic brushstrokes and geometric compositions.

Some of these prints reveal the significance of their central motifs through the remarkable similarity they bear to other works in Gormley's print oeuvre. Singularity, for example, features a bold, black silhouette of a baby crawling, though it appears rather to be floating, as in an amniotic state, owing to the aerial perspective that Gormley uses. In using this motif, Gormley references a work from his earlier portfolio, Bearing Light (1990), that shows a baby in a similar style. The artist's reference to his earlier work signals the vast importance of existential meditations on the nature of life and the human being throughout his career, which has famously figured in his sculptures of solitary or grouped figures in clearly meditative postures.

Born on August 30, 1950, in London, Sir Antony Gormley is an internationally renowned British artist whose interdisciplinary work in sculpture, drawing, painting and printmaking forms a cohesive refection on the human condition. His innovative and thought-provoking artwork has captivated audiences and critics alike, earning him numerous accolades and placing him at the forefront of contemporary sculpture. Gormley's oeuvre is distinguished by its exploration of the human body and its relationship to space, often using his own body as a template. His sculptures stand as poignant meditations on the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos. As a retrospective, self-reflective body of work, Copenhagen Editions embodies this career-long thematic fascination, while paying homage to earlier print portfolios.