by our exhibitions and the collection.
Recent acquisitions
Antony Gormley launches a new addition to our collections
On Tuesday 27 January, Antony Gormley - one of the UK’s leading contemporary artists - was at Manchester Art Gallery to launch the latest addition to our contemporary art collection.
We’re delighted to have been able to purchase a sculpture by the artist. Filter was created by Gormley in 2002. It’s a hanging figure made of flat mild steel rings welded together. The sculpture is hollow and holes in the rings allow you to glimpse inside the body, which contains a suspended heart.
During his visit, Gormley said “The work hangs in space as if in orbit, open to light and the elements, it is a meditation on the relationship between the core of the body and space at large”.
It’s now hanging over the stairs leading to the second floor of the gallery’s modern extension. Make sure you take a look, next time you visit.
With very big thanks
We couldn’t have purchased this work without assistance from the UK’s leading independent art charity, The Art Fund. They gave £80,000 to help us buy this work (which works out as £1 for each of their members). A gift from the Livingstone and Bloom Charitable Trusts also helped make this purchase possible.
Installation of Filter
Please note you will need to have Flash 8 or above installed on your computer. You can download the latest Flash player here.
See more of the installation on our flickr pages.
Listen to Antony Gormley's launch speech
Antony Gormley from Manchester Art Gallery on Vimeo.
One and Other
Antony Gormley is inviting people in the UK to occupy the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London. Every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days without a break beginning on 6th July 2009, a different person will make the Plinth their own - an uninterrupted succession of 2400 volunteers creating a unique portrait of the UK in the 21st century.
For more information please visit: www.oneandother.co.uk
