Sculpture Stars: Blue-Chip Masterpieces Lighting Up London and Beyond!
As passionate lovers of sculpture, we are eagerly counting down the days to the highly anticipated Frieze Sculpture Park, which returns to London’s Regent’s Park from 18 September to 27 October 2024.
This much-loved public art initiative runs alongside the renowned Frieze London and Frieze Masters fairs (9–13 October), showcasing a stunning array of sculptures throughout the park’s historic English Gardens. Curated by Fatoş Üstek, this year’s edition will feature 22 international artists from five continents, promising an unforgettable display of contemporary art in an iconic outdoor setting.
But while we await the wonders of Frieze, there’s no need to wait for your next artistic encounter. Across London and beyond, several extraordinary sculpture exhibitions are already captivating audiences.
Here’s a guide to 5 must-see installations currently on display:
1. Marc Quinn: “Light into Life” – Kew Gardens (Until 29th September 2024)
Discover Marc Quinn’s breathtaking Light into Life exhibition at Kew Gardens. This spring and summer, 17 stainless steel and bronze sculptures have been artfully placed throughout the gardens and the magnificent Temperate House. You will also find more of Quinn’s works in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery.
Reflective and transformative, many of these pieces mirror the surrounding landscape, encouraging viewers to see themselves as part of the artwork and nature itself.
Not only are the sculptures visually stunning, but they also delve into the deep connections between plants and humanity, with Quinn drawing inspiration from significant plant species within Kew’s collections.
Don’t miss this sensory experience before it closes on 29th September.
Location: Kew Gardens, Richmond, London.
2. Gerhard Richter: “STRIP-TOWER” – Serpentine South Gallery (Until 20th October 2024)
Experience Gerhard Richter’s monumental STRIP-TOWER at the Serpentine South Gallery, Kensington Gardens. This captivating large-scale public installation continues Richter’s six-decade exploration of painting, digital reproduction, and abstraction.
Gerhard Richter’s Strip Paintings series, initiated in 2010, draws inspiration from his 1990 Abstract Painting 724-4. Using a process of photographing, scanning, and digitally manipulating the painting, it was divided into increasingly smaller vertical strips, which were stretched horizontally and laminated onto aluminium. This work also echoes Richter’s interest in reflections, systems, and repetitions, seen in his 2008 4900 Colours at Serpentine.
Consisting of colourful striped ceramic tiles arranged across two intersecting panels, the work invites viewers to stand within and immerse themselves in the cross-section. The reflective surfaces create a kaleidoscopic experience, subtly mirroring both the viewer and the park.
The STRIP-TOWER is free to visit until 20th October and is a testament to Richter’s ongoing fascination with repetition and systems.
Location: Serpentine South Gallery, Kensington Gardens, London.
3. Antony Gormley: “Time Horizon” – Houghton Hall, Norfolk (Until 31st October 2024)
A truly immersive experience awaits visitors to Houghton Hall in Norfolk, where Antony Gormley’s iconic Time Horizon is currently on display across 300 acres of the park.
This large-scale installation features 100 cast-iron life-size sculptures, strategically placed across the landscape to create a continuous horizontal plane.
Some sculptures are buried, revealing only the head or torso, while others stand on concrete columns, rising up to four metres off the ground.
Time Horizon, staged in the UK for the first time, offers a powerful reflection on the human body in relation to space and the natural world.
Location: Houghton Hall, Norfolk.
4. Yayoi Kusama: “Pumpkin” – Kensington Gardens (Until 3rd November 2024)
Yayoi Kusama’s towering six-metre-high Pumpkin (2024) has taken up residence near the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens. This bronze sculpture, standing at 6 metres tall and 5.5 metres in diameter is
the largest to date, covered in Kusama’s signature polka dots, reflecting her long-standing fascination with pumpkins, which have been a central motif in her work since the 1940s. The pumpkin serves as both a playful and profound symbol, connecting back to Kusama’s childhood experiences.
At this scale, the sculpture engages in a fascinating dialogue with the natural surroundings, offering visitors the chance to experience it from a wide range of viewpoints. Pumpkin is free to view and will be on display until 3rd November.
Location: Kensington Gardens, London.
5. Yayoi Kusama: Infinite Accumulation – Liverpool Street Station (Permanent installation)
Yayoi Kusama, celebrated for her immersive installations and iconic use of polka dots, expands on one of her most recognized motifs in Infinite Accumulation. Since the 1960s, Kusama's polka dots have appeared across her paintings, sculptures, and multi-media installations, symbolizing both the cosmos' unity and the Earth's fragile place within it. For this site-specific public art installation, located outside the new Elizabeth line entrance at Liverpool Street station, Kusama transforms her signature dots into interlocking forms that define and reshape the surrounding public space.
Standing over 10 meters high and 12 meters wide, Infinite Accumulation stretches across 100 meters, featuring gleaming silver spheres that reflect the ever-changing urban environment.
Co-funded by British Land and the City of London Corporation, Infinite Accumulation is the final commission of the Crossrail Art Programme, marking the largest public art initiative in London in a generation.
To read more about this wonderful public art commission for London, visit Vitruvian’s art blog: https://www.vitruvianartsconsultancy.com/post/yayoi-kusamas-infinite-accumulation---a-monumental-addition-to-londons-public-art
Location: Liverpool Street Station, London
Whether you’re captivated by Kusama’s whimsical pumpkins or intrigued by Gormley’s meditations on the human form, these exhibitions offer an array of diverse and thought-provoking experiences.
With all these incredible installations already lighting up the cultural scene, there’s no better time to explore the sculptural wonders London has to offer – until we meet at Frieze Sculpture Park in a few weeks!
