Tumbling Figure by Gerald Laing
‘It is difficult, indeed almost impossible, to invent a significant new pose for sculpture. Instead, each pose tends to be part of a continuum with a genealogy of its own, however much the intention may vary from sculpture to sculpture.’ So says Gerald Laing. An example of this genealogy of composition could be Botticelli’s Venus whose lineage is firmly rooted in antiquity. Poses are continually repeated throughout art history, and some survive to become common parlance within our own lexicon of iconography. This unusual pose for the Tumbling Figure evolved from the splayed out form of the philosopher Diogenes in the Vatican Palace fresco, ‘School of Athens’ by Raphael, through the Cherub in Carpeaux’s composition ‘The Dance’ adorning the Paris Opéra and filtered again through Gerald’s passion for modern dance. The form holds in equal measure both the classic and the romantic. The right angled form of arm and leg alludes to the classical, perhaps similar to that of another of Gerald’s favourite Renaissance artists, Paolo Uccello, while the romantic is shown in the sinuous but modern beauty of the model. This work was modelled when Gerald was teaching at Columbia University, on his then wife Adaline, an extreme gymnast from the eminent Frelinghuysen family of American gardeners known for their patronage of the New York Botanic Gardens and the Frelinghuysen Arboretum in New Jersey. Adaline was also the inspirational designer of the beautiful gardens at Kinkell Castle.
The hard geometric haircut is a product of its time, probably best remembered through the singer Grace Jones. The Tumbling Figure was cast by Gerald himself when back at Kinkell in Scotland. Date of original work 1988. Reference CR486. Edition number 2 / 10.
Height 2 ft 10 ins [86 cm]
Width 3 ft 10 ins [117 cm]
Depth 2 ft 3 ins [69 cm]
Price: £24,800.00 + Vat
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