HENRY MOORE

(1898-1986)

Architectural Project

Footnotes

Provenance
Albert White Gallery, Toronto
Douglas & Sydelle Schubot Collection, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan
Acquired from the above in 2006 by the present owner

Literature
A. Bowness (ed.), Henry Moore: Complete Sculpture, 1964-1973, London, 1977, vol. IV, no. 602 (another cast illustrated pls. 130-133)
D. Mitchinson (ed.), Henry Moore, Sculpture with Comments by the Artist, Barcelona, 1981, nos. 451 and 452 (another cast illustrated p. 214)
W.S. Lieberman, Henry Moore: 60 Years of His Art, London, 1983, p. 103 (another cast illustrated)

The present bronze, Architectural Project (1969), was created at a mature point in Moore's career, and exemplifies the artist's intention that sculpture not entirely reveal itself on first glance. Viewed in the round, from all angles, the bronze forgoes a true frontal perspective, swooping and swerving, creating new positive and negative relations in space. At times, the bronze appears to call up the forms of an animal, a reclining figure, a cloud, a landscape. Moore has pushed the shapes beyond human reference toward a more imposing sense of space, as the title suggests.

The 1960s were a particularly creative and inventive phase of Moore's career, in which he embraced new materials and techniques which enabled him to work on an increasingly monumental scale (fig 1). The generally figurative work of the post-war period gave way to more abstract ideas, many of which explore organic forms inspired by nature. Architectural Project embodies the persistent influences in Moore's lifetime of work, as well as the unique, vital energy of his later production. The curved bulbous forms merge into sharp-edged projections, creating recessed areas and arches that convey a sense of dynamism. It is a testament to his idea that energy comes from within the piece. As Moore explained, "For me, a work must first have a vitality of its own. I do not mean a reflection of the vitality of life, of movement, physical action, frisking, dancing figures and so on, but that a work can have in it a pent-up energy, an intense life of its own, independent of the object it may represent" (quoted in Exh. cat., Henry Moore, Carvings, Bronzes 1961-1970, New York, 1970, p. 77).

The patina of his bronzes was an area in which Moore was closely involved. His interest in the processes and techniques of bronze casting had led him to become a master of the medium, one who was intimately aware of the interplay of matter and form, texture and color. At first, he was led by curiosity and expediency, but it seems he soon appreciated how technique could itself become generative of form. In Moore's hands bronze was not an antithesis of stone or wood carving: carving, scraping and grating his plaster models allowed him to create texture in his finished bronzes that matched anything he could achieve in his stone or wood pieces, while many of his patinas suggested natural textures and weathering. Moore would occasionally vary the colors of bronzes within an edition to give his clients more choice, and where works were going to be sited outdoors he was careful to ensure that the color of the sculptures contrasted with their proposed surroundings.

The present cast exhibits a mouth blown atomized patina that presents as a speckled finish, a technique characteristic of the artist's work of the late 60's and 70's. The highpoints are intentionally rubbed back revealing the bronze below to create a contrasting lighter surface. In contrast, concave surfaces were often patinated to appear darker. Close examination of Moore's darker patinas sometimes reveals complex layers of two or three colors, often dark brown, red brown and green, to create interest and complexity within the surface.

For example, the patina of The Tate's cast of Working Model for Three Way Piece No.2: Archer, 1964 (fig 2) is a dark brown color, the mottled appearance of which has been achieved by stippling the patina solution onto the surface with a brush. It has mainly been applied to the recessed surfaces between the projecting forms; the 'high points' of the sculpture, including the edges and various outward-facing surfaces display a lighter, golden-brown tone where the patina has been used sparingly. The sculpture was also coated with a yellow-tinted lacquer, which lends the bronze its overall golden sheen.