Antony Gormley and Tadao Ando Team Up for Meditative Sculpture Cave

Summary

British artist Antony Gormley is presenting Drawing on Space at Museum SAN in South Korea through November 30.
At the heart of the 48-piece showcase is Ground, an architectural intervention conceived in collaboration with esteemed Japanese architect Tadao Ando.
Ground, which takes the form of a meditative concrete cave, houses seven cast-iron figures from Gormley’s seminal Blockworks series.

Antony Gormley, renowned sculptor, views his craft not as a solitary representation of an ideal form, but as a tool for exploring and understanding space and shape collectively through our shared perception. Currently, he is showcasing his largest exhibition in South Korea titled “Drawing on Space” at Museum SAN. This exhibition spans the entirety of the museum’s Cheongjo wing’s three galleries, featuring an impressive collection of 48 works, along with a fresh architectural design by Japanese architect Tadao Ando at its core.

Exploring Space through Art is Gormley’s ongoing exploration of the human body as both subject and location. He views the body as a permeable, reactive form to delve into how we perceive, move within, and ultimately inhabit space. This exploration reaches its peak ambition in Ground, an underground dome situated beneath the museum’s flower garden.

The building design has an architectural feel reminiscent of the Pantheon and Ando’s ‘Space of Light,’ creating a meditative ambiance. Inside, there’s a vast 25-meter chamber with just one oculus that floods the space with light. Seven cast-iron figures from Gormley’s ‘Blockworks’ series are arranged within, some sitting, crouching, or standing. The eighth figure is strategically placed at the center of the opening, standing outside against the scenic backdrop of distant mountains shrouded in forest.

Among the standout features of the exhibition are “Liminal Field,” showcasing steel bubble forms that delve into the fleeting essence of physical bodies, and the intricate aluminum rings resembling flowers in “Orbit Field II.” The artist’s works on paper serve as thoughtful investigations of light, mass, and internal spaces, mirroring his sculptural exploration.

Gormley clarified that the objective is to merge “tangible and creative environments.” He further added, “Instead of simply filling space, these works will stimulate it, delving into the boundaries between architectural structures and the senses of one’s body.

Drawing on Space is now on view in Wonju through November 30.

Museum SAN
260 Oak valley 2-gil,
Jijeong-myeon,
Wonju-si, Gangwon-do,
South Korea

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