Thomas Houseago ^©  

(1972)

The Go Between, A Selection of International Emerging Artist from the Ernesto Esposito Collection, Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, from 13 December 2014 to 12 January 2015, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue on p. 132

Blindarte kindly thanks to Costanza Ballardini of the Gagosian Gallery, Rome, for the help in compiling this sheet 

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Engaging in a continuous dialogue with the past, the monumental works of Thomas Houseago (Leeds, 1972) draw from Greco-Roman mythology, African tribal art, cartoon imagery, Italian mannerism, science fiction and robots. The artist traces the history of figurative sculpture through his own contemporary experience, with the result that his works seem ancient and modern at the same time.

Houseago’s masks are concentrated of coarsely shaped matter; the sculpture proposed here comes from his series of "Roman Mask": imposing works with jagged edges, characterized by a strong play of light and shadow that reveals the profile of a deformed skull, supported by a metal skeleton and composed of chalk, which the artist models materially using hands and feet.

The result is a sculpture that conveys both physical strength and emotional vulnerability, the two contrasting feelings come together to compose a surprisingly raw and energetic work.