Richard Deacon Dead Leg
September 10 to December 18, 2011
Richard Deacon’s Dead Leg is but one example of his tour-de-force, large-scale sculptures. Made from compressed 2 x 2 foot lengths of oak, bound together by fabricated stainless steel couplings, it measures a grand 8 x 28 x 9 feet. For over twenty-four years now, Deacon has collaborated with Matthew Perry to problem-solve the engineering and production of the wood sculptures. Together, they have developed technologies and working methods, the coalesced “disallowed combinations” as Deacon puts it, that push beyond what has been thought possible to do with oak and other types of wood. Their methods transform materials through the command of an expertise that serves Deacon’s innovative aesthetic. Certainly his knowledge of and interest in materials is apparent, and, the manipulation of structural elements is at the core of his practice that draws attention to the process of manufacture and the use of urban and industrial materials.
Richard Deacon lives and works in London, dividing his time between the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf, where he teaches, and Cologne, Germany.
Among many notable citations and honors, Mr. Deacon was awarded the Tate Gallery’s prestigious Turner Prize in 1987; the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 1997; and, he represented Wales at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2008. Elected to the Royal Academy in 1998, Richard Deacon was chosen as a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his significant contributions to the Arts in Great Britain.
The artist’s work is found in the permanent collections of the Tate Gallery, London; Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; St. Louis Art Museum; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Musee Beaubourg, Centre Pompidou, Paris; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Louisiana Museum, Denmark; Fundacion Caja de Pensiones, Barcelona; KIASMA, Finland; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; and, the Samsung Museum, Seoul, South Korea, among other notable institutions.
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