If Phillip King is not yet a familiar name, it will be soon, thanks to three appearances in London this summer by the octogenarian British sculptor.
The largest is a condensed survey of his career at Thomas Dane Gallery. Nine Works from the 1960s to today are on show, and most famously 'Rosebud' - a giant pink and blue plastic cone created in 1962. (A sister cone, 'Twilight', was sold during Frieze Masters last year for a six figure sum.)
'King has always been fascinated with the apex as a shape,' explains François Chantala, a partner at the Thomas Dane Gallery, who first approached King in 2012 with the idea of a show. Throughout his 50-year career, King has referenced tents, tepees and wigwams (he refers to two objects leaning together as 'a primal act of sculpture') in materials from concrete to steel to wood to plaster.
King trained under Anthony Caro at Central Saint Martins in the late 1950s and went on to assist Henry Moore. He became a fixture among the British avant garde and in 1968 represented Britain - along with Bridget Riley - at the Venice Biennale.
At one end of the gallery is 'Blue Blaze', a series of ultramarine abstract sculptures which look like an upturned stage set and are inspired by ancient Greek ruins. 'Spectrum' (2007) is a series of dazzlingly coloured boxes. It demonstrates King's skills as a colourist, walong with his masterful use of materials forms.
Down the road in an upstairs gallery is a family of white sculptures. Among them is 'Window Piece' (1960), a concrete window, half open, (or half closed?) and 'In and Out' which was created specifically for the exhibition. It combines King's signature bright colours, organic and abstract shapes and different materials. 'It's almost like a Best Of,' explains Chantala.
King also created huge public sculptures, the most famous of which, 'Clarion', stands in Fulham Broadway. This month, the Thomas Dane Gallery is exhibiting nine others, including 'Genghis Kahn' (his most famous winged cone) and the 8-metre 'High, Sky and Bling' in the Ranelagh Gardens of the Royal Hospital Chelsea during Masterpiece (26 June - 25 August).
From 1999 to 2004, King was president of the Royal Academy. In what is a further celebration of his 80th birthday this year, a second edition of his new sculpture 'Skyhook' (another is at Thomas Dane Gallery) forms part of the gallery's summer exhibition.
Nine Works from the 1960s to today are featured in the octogenarian's exhibition including 'Genghis Khan' 1963. Courtesy of Phillip King and Thomas Dane Gallery
The famous 'Rosebud' by Phillip King, 1962, is a highlight of the show. It's sister cone, 'Twilight', was sold during Frieze Masters last year for a six figure sum.
'King has always been fascinated with the apex as a shape,' explains François Chantala, a partner at Thomas Dane. 'Sure Place' by Phillip King, 1976-7,Courtesy of Thomas Dane Gallery
Throughout his 50-year career, King has referenced tents, tepees and wigwams in materials from concrete to steel to wood to plaster. Pictured: 'In and Out' by Phillip King at Thomas Dane Gallery. Courtesy of Thomas Dane Gallery
A portrait of the artist who celebrated his 80th birthday this year.
King's studio in West London
ADDRESS
Thomas Dane Gallery
11 Duke Street St James's
London SW1Y 6BN
-
‘Independence, community, legacy’: inside a new book documenting the history of cult British streetwear label AriesRizzoli’s ‘Aries Arise Archive’ documents the last ten years of the ‘independent, rebellious’ London-based label. Founder Sofia Prantera tells Wallpaper* the story behind the project
-
Head out to new frontiers in the pocket-sized Project Safari off-road supercarProject Safari is the first venture from Get Lost Automotive and represents a radical reworking of the original 1990s-era Lotus Elise
-
Kapwani Kiwanga transforms Kvadrat’s Milan showroom with a prismatic textile made from ocean wasteThe Canada-born artist draws on iridescence in nature to create a dual-toned textile made from ocean-bound plastic
-
The art of the textile label: how British mill-made cloth sold itself to Indian buyersAn exhibition of Indo-British textile labels at the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru is a journey through colonial desire and the design of mass persuasion
-
Artist Qualeasha Wood explores the digital glitch to weave stories of the Black female experienceIn ‘Malware’, her new London exhibition at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, the American artist’s tapestries, tuftings and videos delve into the world of internet malfunction
-
Ed Atkins confronts death at Tate BritainIn his new London exhibition, the artist prods at the limits of existence through digital and physical works, including a film starring Toby Jones
-
Tom Wesselmann’s 'Up Close' and the anatomy of desireIn a new exhibition currently on show at Almine Rech in London, Tom Wesselmann challenges the limits of figurative painting
-
A major Frida Kahlo exhibition is coming to the Tate Modern next yearTate’s 2026 programme includes 'Frida: The Making of an Icon', which will trace the professional and personal life of countercultural figurehead Frida Kahlo
-
A portrait of the artist: Sotheby’s puts Grayson Perry in the spotlightFor more than a decade, photographer Richard Ansett has made Grayson Perry his muse. Now Sotheby’s is staging a selling exhibition of their work
-
From counter-culture to Northern Soul, these photos chart an intimate history of working-class Britain‘After the End of History: British Working Class Photography 1989 – 2024’ is at Edinburgh gallery Stills
-
Celia Paul's colony of ghostly apparitions haunts Victoria MiroEerie and elegiac new London exhibition ‘Celia Paul: Colony of Ghosts’ is on show at Victoria Miro until 17 April
