At Richard Green, in Association with Willoughby Gerrish Ltd,
EXHIBITION
33 Bond Street, London W1S 2RS, 25 October–17 November 2023
Richard Green, in association with Willoughby Gerrish, is delighted to announce an exhibition of new sculptures by Britain’s greatest living free-carver, Emily Young. Entitled ‘Pareidolia in stone’, Young reveals and enhances the perception of delicate facial features and undulating feminine curves in her exquisite heads and torsos, without detracting from or over-refining the exceptional natural beauty and profound importance of the ancient stones with which she works. With vast knowledge and an exceptional eye, Young selects the most beautiful of natural materials for her sculptures, including lapis lazuli, caramel onyx, limestone, alabaster and marble, revelling in their unique forms, colours, structures and surfaces. Guided by evocations in the stone, Young, in the noble tradition of direct carving, creates breathtakingly beautiful, thought-provoking works of historical, geological and geographical significance from her Monastic studio in southern Tuscany. At once classical and contemporary, Young’s work has always been remarkable, but never more relevant, heightening our perception and connection to the precious, finite materials we take for granted and placing them rightly on a plinth to be treasured and revered.
A sumptuously illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition, with fascinating geological notes by the artist and an engrossing introduction by Dr Antonia Bostrom, Director of Collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum, formerly senior curator and head of the Sculpture and Decorative Arts Department at the J. Paul Getty Museum, and editor of the three-volume Encyclopedia of Sculpture (2004).
Emily Young recently spoke to Ed Vaizey and Charlotte Metcalf about her forthcoming exhibition at the gallery on the podcast ‘Break Out Culture’, which you can listen to here
33 New Bond Street, London W1S 2RS