PRESENTATION: Richard Deacon-New Works

Richard Deacon’s sculptures are characterised by a controlled, abstract structure that is combined with an imaginative and unexpected use of materials. At the forefront of British sculpture since the 1980s, he has developed a distinctive vocabulary that includes everyday materials such as laminated wood, linoleum, leather, concrete and limestone. There is a striking tension between the resolute abstraction of his works and the organic implications of their shapes, which often evoke forms from molecular biology.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery Archive

In “New Works” his exhibition in Paris, Richard Deacon presents sculptures and drawings from three groups of works, each characterised by the distinct use of a different material, spanning glazed ceramic, stainless steel and pencil on synthetic vellum. The artist’s work is invariably marked by his experiments with diverse materials and his deep-rooted interest in their specific consistencies and qualities. He remains faithful to the principles of craftsmanship that have driven his practice since the beginning of his career and constitute an integral part of his aesthetic. Deacon explains: “The work in this show, which has several different materials, is all about colour, surface and shape”. Among his most recent works are a group of sculptures in ceramic, a medium Deacon has been associated with for over 20 years. Marked by their shiny, glass-smooth finish, these works are entitled “Made of This”, after the 1983 Eurythmics song “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”, as the artist explains, because ‘they are rather succulent as objects. A lot of the ceramics I’ve made haven’t been quite so delicious, so sweet.’ The polygonal shapes are accentuated by prominently coloured rims, some of which have been rendered in contrasting hues. The final effect of the glazed surfaces is only revealed after the firing process, introducing an element of chance to his practice, otherwise usually governed by control. The artist explains: ‘Colour is part of the process, but you can’t tell what the glaze will look like once it is fired. What you see is never what you get and that is liberating.’ Presented on low pedestals, the works encourage the viewer to look down at their reflective surfaces from above, highlighting their position in relation to the object.  The exhibition also brings together a group of small-scale stainless steel works from Deacon’s “Tread” series. Consisting of rounded, organic forms, featuring variations on a distinctive wave-shaped surface, the works are characterised by both their soft curves and their sharp-cut edges, which, together with the highly polished surface, give them a workable, almost malleable quality. Deacon chooses the titles of his works to complement their associative potential. In his words, titles ‘need to both say something about the work but also leave things open’. The “Tread” works are, as the artist says, ‘a bit like shoes’, recalling also the act of treading with their relationship to the pedestal. Like the “Made of This” ceramics, the “Tread” sculptures have slightly rounded lower sides, giving them a ‘rocking relationship to the ground’ and investing their connection with the surface on which they rest with an unpredictability and a sense of almost living animation. The sculptures are accompanied by three large drawings in pencil on synthetic vellum. A support with extensive art-historical antecedents, vellum is most often used today for technical drawing for its slightly translucent quality which lends itself to tracing. Fusing fluid freehand forms with lines drawn with a pair of compasses, a protractor and a ruler, these works include visible traces of their own construction. The artist describes himself as a ‘fabricator’, and explains that not knowing exactly where one is going is one of the main drivers in the act of drawing. Deacon’s drawings – a constant in his practice – are autonomous from his sculptures: they do not necessarily have a direct preparatory function, and are seen by the artist as experiments in their own right. The works in the exhibition are marked by the contrasts between sharp-cut edges and organic shapes; between lines drawn with a technical precision and freehand mark making. As the artist explains, in his work, “the form is clear but there’s also a desire for a potential plasticity or fluidity which remains latent.’ Across forms and mediums, these works are united by this common sense of this potential: ‘the sense of pushing and pulling against the idea of space”. Among his most recent works are a group of small-scale ceramic sculptures, a medium Deacon has been associated with for over 20 years. Marked by their shiny, glass-smooth finish, these works manifest the artist’s preoccupation with surface, form and color. The polygonal shapes are accentuated by prominently colored rims, some of which have been rendered in contrasting hues. The final effect of the glazed surfaces is only revealed after the firing process, introducing an element of chance to his practice, otherwise usually governed by control. A group of small-scale stainless steel works from Deacon’s “Tread” series are distributed rhythmically around the gallery space. Consisting of round, organic shapes, featuring a distinctive wave-shaped surface, the works are characterised by both their soft curves and their sharp cut edges, which, together with the highly polished surface, gives the works a workable, almost malleable quality. Deacon chooses titles to complement the associative potential of his works. In the juxtaposition of multiple sizes, forms and materials, this exhibition highlights the range of Deacon’s creative work and sculptural language, which is nonetheless permeated by a common bond that constitutes the core of the artist’s œuvre.

Photo: Richard Deacon, Made Of This #4, 2023, Glazed ceramic, 11.5 x 36 x 37.5 cm (4.53 x 14.17 x 14.76 in), © Richard Deacon, Courtesy the artist and Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery

Info: Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, 7 Rue Debelleyme, Paris, France, Duration: 13/1-24/2/2024, Days & Hours: tue-Sat 10:00-19:00, https://ropac.net/