Antony Gormley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sir Antony Gormley OBE RA
Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (2024)
Born	Antony Mark David Gormley (1950-08-30) 30 August 1950 (age 74) Hampstead, London, England
Education	Trinity College, Cambridge Saint Martin's School of Art Goldsmiths, University of London Slade School of Fine Art
Known for	Sculpture, Installation Art, Public Artworks
Spouse(s)	Vicken Parsons ​ (m. 1980)​
Awards	Turner Prize (1994) South Bank Prize for Visual Art (1999) Bernhard Heiliger Award for Sculpture (2007) Obayashi Prize (2012) Praemium Imperiale for Sculpture (2013) Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture (2015)

Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a famous British sculptor. He is known for creating large public artworks. Some of his most famous pieces include the giant Angel of the North in Gateshead, Another Place with its many figures on Crosby Beach, and Event Horizon, which has been shown in cities worldwide.

Early Life and Education

Antony Gormley was born in Hampstead, London, in 1950. He was the youngest of seven children. His mother was German, and his father was from Ireland.

He went to a boarding school called Ampleforth College in Yorkshire. After that, he studied interesting subjects like archaeology and anthropology at Trinity College, Cambridge.

From 1971 to 1974, Gormley traveled to India and Sri Lanka. He wanted to learn more about Buddhism. This trip greatly influenced his art. When he returned to England, he made one of his first artworks called Sleeping Place. He draped a plaster-soaked sheet over a friend. This created a hollow shape that looked like a body. It reminded him of people he saw sleeping in India.

Later, he studied art at several schools in London. These included Saint Martin's School of Art and Goldsmiths, University of London. He finished his art studies at the Slade School of Fine Art in 1979. As a student, he often used natural materials like stone and wood in his sculptures.

Career and Major Works

Gormley's art career began with his first solo exhibition in 1981. He started making sculptures that explored the human body. He would create molds of his own body. Then he would cover these molds in lead. These artworks, like Three Ways: Mould Hole and Passage, explored the body as a space. Gormley wanted to show the body as a place where things happen, not just an object.

In the 1990s, his hollow body sculptures became solid. He started casting them in iron. These heavy sculptures took up a lot of space. One important work from this time is Critical Mass II. It features 60 life-sized figures in different positions. Gormley described it as a "memorial to the victims of the 20th century." This artwork has been shown in many countries.

Large-Scale Installations

Gormley is famous for his large-scale installations. These are artworks that fill a whole space.

• In 2006, he created Asian Field. This huge artwork had about 200,000 small clay figures. Around 300 Chinese villagers made them in just five days.
• Event Horizon (2007) is another well-known work. It features 31 life-sized figures of his body. These figures were placed on top of buildings in London. Later, they appeared in New York City, São Paulo, and Hong Kong. They made people think about city life and how we fit into it.
• In 2009, Gormley created One & Other for London's Fourth Plinth. This project invited regular people to stand on the empty plinth for one hour. It became a "living art" event and got a lot of attention.

Exploring Body and Architecture

In the 2000s, Gormley started looking at how the human body relates to buildings. He created his "Blockworks" series. In these sculptures, he used architectural blocks instead of body parts. This made the sculptures look like buildings themselves.

In 2015, Gormley placed five life-sized sculptures called Land across the UK. They were part of a celebration for the Landmark Trust. One of these sculptures was knocked over by a storm.

His famous Another Place sculpture on Crosby Beach celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2015. Gormley was happy to see how the figures had changed over time.

In 2019, Gormley had a special exhibition called Sight on the ancient Greek island of Delos. He placed 29 iron sculptures among the old ruins. This was the first time a modern artist had shown work at this historic site.

In 2023, he had a major exhibition called Critical Mass at the Musée Rodin in Paris. His sculptures were placed alongside the works of the famous sculptor Rodin.

In 2024, Gormley unveiled True, for Alan Turing at King's College, Cambridge. This sculpture honors the life of the mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing. Gormley said he wanted to celebrate Turing's impact on all our lives.

Recognition and Awards

Antony Gormley has received many awards for his art.

• He won the famous Turner Prize in 1994 for his work Field for the British Isles.
• He became a Royal Academician in 2003. This is a very high honor for artists in the UK.
• He was also a trustee of the British Museum for several years.
• In 2013, he received the Praemium Imperiale for sculpture. This is a major international art award.
• In 2014, he was knighted by the Queen. This means he can now be called "Sir Antony Gormley." He had previously received the OBE honor in 1998.

Personal Life

Antony Gormley is married to Vicken Parsons, who is also a successful artist. They have three children.

He supports Paintings in Hospitals, a charity that brings art to hospitals and care homes.

In 2022, Gormley applied for German citizenship. He was able to do this because his mother was German.

Major Works

Gormley's website shows images of almost all his works. Here are some of his most notable pieces:

• Bed (1981) – owned by the Tate Gallery.
• Sound II (1986) – found in the crypt of Winchester Cathedral.
• Brick Man (1986) – a model of a proposed sculpture, at Leeds City Art Gallery.
• Field (1991) – a series of installations with many small figures.
• Iron:Man (1993) – in Victoria Square, Birmingham.
• Havmann (1995) – in Mo i Rana, Norway.
• Another Place (1997) – permanently installed at Crosby Beach near Liverpool.
• Angel of the North (1998) – a huge public sculpture in Gateshead.
• Quantum Cloud (1999) – in Greenwich, London.
• Broken Column (1999–2003) – in Stavanger, Norway.
• Present Time (2001) – at Mansfield College, Oxford.
• Planets (2002) – at the British Library, London.
• Filter (2002) – at Manchester Art Gallery.
• Inside Australia (2003) – a permanent exhibition at Lake Ballard, Western Australia.
• Time Horizon – at the Archaeological Park of Scolacium in Italy.
• Ferment (2007).
• Blind Light (2007) – at Hayward Gallery, London.
• Event Horizon (2007) – shown in London, New York City, São Paulo, and Hong Kong.
• Reflection II (2008) – at DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park.
• One & Other (2009) – at Trafalgar Square, London.
• Another Time XI (2009) – on top of Exeter College, Oxford.
• Horizon Field (2010–2012) – an installation in the Austrian Alps.
• Exposure (2010) – in Lelystad, Netherlands.
• Cloud Chain (2010) – at Les Archives Nationales, Paris.
• Transport (2011) – in the Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral.
• Mothership with Standing Matter (2011) – in Lillehammer, Norway.
• Witness (2011) – at the British Library, London.
• Horizon Field Hamburg (2012) – at Deichtorhallen, Germany.
• Stay (2015/16) – in Christchurch, New Zealand.
• Sight (2019) – on Delos Island, Greece.
• Witness VII and Witness VIII (2021) – at École du Louvre.
• Alert (2022) – at Imperial College London.
• True, for Alan Turing (2024) – at King's College, Cambridge.

Images for kids

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  Another Place (1997) where 100 cast-iron figures face out to sea on Crosby Beach, near Liverpool

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  Iron: Man (1993), in its former location in Victoria Square, Birmingham. It has since been relocated, nearby.

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  Antony Gormley and David Chipperfield's Sculpture for an objective experience of architecture (2008), Kivik Art Centre, Sweden

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  Exposure (2010), in Lelystad, the Netherlands

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  Land at Lowsonford, 2015

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  Untitled (for Francis) 1985 at the Tate Modern

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  Clasp at Newcastle University, 2018.

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  Gormley's Sound II in the crypt beneath Winchester Cathedral.

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  Pair of figures separated by plate glass, Regent's Place, London

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  One of 31 actual-sized figures on London's skyline in Event Horizon

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  Maquette for Gormley's proposed Brick Man sculpture, at Leeds City Art Gallery

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  Angel of the North viewed from a train on the nearby East Coast Mainline

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  Asian Field at M+, 2021

See also

In Spanish: Antony Gormley para niños