In its largest edition yet, the sixth annual ‘Sculpture in the City’ has transformed the Square Mile once again into an open-air, urban exhibition. Until May 2017, works are being showcased in and around some of London’s architectural landmarks.
‘Sculpture in the City’ is a public art program run by the City of London that installs contemporary artworks in unexpected locations around the district. A collaboration between the City of London Corporation, local businesses and the art world, the program provides an opportunity for the public to engage and interact with contemporary art and the artists on show. It aims to enhance the urban environment with its juxtaposition of creativity and the landscape of finance. Featuring both established and emerging international artists, previous contributors have included Ai Weiwei, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.
Seventeen works are exhibited this year. The curation features large-scale pieces by English artists Sarah Lucas and Sir Anthony Caro, South African artists William Kentridge and Gerhard Marx, and Italian sculptor and conceptual artist Giuseppe Penone. Also included are a 7m-high, cast-iron head by Catalan sculptor Jaume Plensa at the Gherkin and delicate paper chain sculptures by Peruvian artist Lizi Sánchez strung throughout multiple locations from Leadenhall Market to the Cheesegrater.
On top of the installations dotted around the city, complementary educational workshops run by Open-City are being held after the project's installation, to engage and inspire schoolchildren and the wider community.
Run by the City of London, it aims to juxtapose art pieces with the urban environment of the capital’s insurance district. Pictured: Untitled, by Enrico David, 2015
Both domestic and international practitioners are featured, from Sarah Lucas and Sir Anthony Caro, to South African artists William Kentridge and Gerhard Marx, and Italian sculptor and conceptual artist Giuseppe Penone. Pictured: Fire Walker, by William Kentridge and Gerhard Marx, 2014. Courtesy the artists
Sculptures greatly range in size, from the 7m-high piece by Jaume Plensa to small paper-chain installations by Lizi Sánchez. Pictured: Laura, by Jaume Plensa, 2013
The smallest work, Cadenetas, by Peruvian artist Lizi Sánchez, is installed across Leadenhall Market, Bishopsgate, and in and around the Cheesegrater. Pictured: Cadenetas, by Lizi Sánchez, 2016
In total, 17 artworks have been installed across the Square Mile, turning the area into an urban canvas. Pictured: Florian and Kevin, by Sarah Lucas, 2013. Courtesy the artist
In keeping with the aim of engaging and inspiring the community, educational workshops for schoolchildren and the public are being run after the project’s installation. Pictured: World Axis, by Jürgen Partenheimer
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the City of London's website
Photography: Nick Turpin
-
Hollywood Forever's new ‘vertical mausoleum’ is the tallest in the USThe Gower Mausoleum is not only an innovative solution for housing the deceased in a crowded urban centre; it is also reframing the way that we view cemeteries
-
Teenage Engineering celebrate ten years of the Pocket Operator synth series with £49 modelTE’s cult series of pocketable synths, beat machines, sequencers and samplers celebrates its tenth decade with a new microsite and competition
-
The creative mind at work: a century of storyboarding at Fondazione PradaFondazione Prada’s 'Osservatorio, A Kind of Language: Storyboards and Other Renderings' features some of the most celebrated names in cinema working from the late 1920s up to 2024
-
'We need to be constantly reminded of our similarities' – Jonathan Baldock challenges the patriarchal roots of a former Roman temple in LondonThrough use of ceramics and textiles, British artist Jonathan Baldock creates a magical and immersive exhibition at ‘0.1%’ at London's Mithraum Bloomberg Space
-
Discover Rotimi Fani-Kayode's fluid photographs of the queer male body, on show in London‘Rotimi-Fani Kayode: The Studio – Staging Desire’ at Autograph ABP celebrates the work of the Nigerian-born photographer
-
Saatchi Gallery is in full bloom with floral works from Vivienne Westwood, Marimekko, Buccellati and more‘Flowers – Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture’ at Saatchi Gallery, London, explores the relationship between creatives and their floral muses, and spans from fashion and jewellery to tattoos
-
'I want to get into these images and perfume them': Linder's retrospective opens at the Hayward Gallery'Linder: Danger Came Smiling' gathers fifty years of the artist's work at the Hayward Gallery. We meet the punk provocateur ahead of her first retrospective
-
Tasneem Sarkez's heady mix of kitsch, Arabic and Americana hits LondonArtist Tasneem Sarkez draws on an eclectic range of references for her debut solo show, 'White-Knuckle' at Rose Easton
-
‘A call to action for more authentic expressions of working-class life’: a London show reframes working-class BritainLondon exhibition ‘Lives Less Ordinary’, at Two Temple Place, challenges age-old stereotypes
-
‘Dr Tetris’ on the biggest ever iteration of the puzzle in LondonTetris comes to 360-degree, 23,000 sq ft, 16k LED screens in London; Craig McLean speaks to Henk Rogers, the man who’s kept the game alive
-
Never-before-seen Barbara Hepworth works go on show in landmark exhibitionIn ‘Barbara Hepworth: Strings’, various Hepworth sculptures will be exhibited in public for the first time, at Piano Nobile, London
