HONG KONG, March 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A new cast iron sculpture, entitled SHELF II, by internationally renowned British sculptor Antony Gormley has been unveiled in Hong Kong as a permanent addition to Swire Properties' public art collection. The artwork stands in an outdoor area as part of the newly extended public realm of the Taikoo Place redevelopment, becoming a fixture in Hong Kong's cultural ecosystem.
Located near an expansive green open space surrounded by high-rise office and residential towers, Gormley's sculpture evokes a curious, searching body, one that is thoughtful, quizzical and contemplative. The work can be seen as a comment on the busy daily lives of those who inhabit the urban city; still and silent, the sculpture allows passers-by to reflect on their own position within the city. Over time, SHELF II will show signs of oxidisation as it reacts with the elements, rusting and becoming part of Hong Kong's ever-changing, transforming landscape.
Gormley comments on his work: "Taikoo Place is busy, full of people moving through it, coming to work and enjoying the open space between the buildings. It's good to think about how SHELF II will interact with this context, and I am touched that my work is on public display in Hong Kong, for this and future generations to enjoy, standing between many high-rise buildings, all of them with windows that look out – places of observation, or witness, of the life that goes on within and around them. SHELF II is a sculpture that treats the body like a building."
Gormley's sculpture stands within Swire Properties' ongoing redevelopment of Taikoo Place with a key highlight including the two new triple Grade-A office towers being linked to the other eight office towers by elevated, air-conditioned walkways designed by Paris-based design company Hugh Dutton Associés. On the ground level, the creation of Taikoo Square and Taikoo Garden will provide 70,000 sq ft of open space for the community to enjoy, designed by award-winning London-based landscape architectural practice Gustafson Porter + Bowman.
SHELF II was unveiled as part of Swire Properties Arts Month – an annual dedicated series of cultural programming across Hong Kong in celebration of its ongoing partnership with Art Basel Hong Kong, taking place from 28 to 30 March 2024.
Tim Blackburn, Chief Executive of Swire Properties, said, "We're excited to launch Swire Properties' Arts Month 2024 and immerse our tenants, visitors, and communities in an incredible series of art programmes from sculptural artwork to large-scale art installations. As an international arts hub, arts and culture are part of Hong Kong's urban fabric, and we're delighted to be able to play our part. Once again, through curated collaborations with internationally renowned artists and designers, we aspire to bring arts and culture into people's everyday lives, an ambition that we've been pursuing for the past five decades."
Gormley's work has been widely exhibited throughout the UK and internationally with exhibitions at Musée Rodin, Paris, France (2023); Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany (2022); Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, Netherlands (2022); National Gallery Singapore, Singapore (2021); Schauwerk Sindelfingen, Germany (2021); Royal Academy of Arts, London (2019), Delos, Greece (2019); Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy (2019); Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania (2019); Long Museum, Shanghai (2017); Forte di Belvedere, Florence, Italy (2015); Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland (2014); Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia (2012); Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany (2012); The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia (2011); Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2010); Hayward Gallery, London (2007); Malmö Konsthall, Sweden (1993); and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark (1989). Permanent public works include the Angel of the North (Gateshead, UK), Another Place (Crosby Beach, UK), Inside Australia (Lake Ballard, Western Australia), Exposure (Lelystad, Netherlands), Chord (MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Alert (Imperial College London, UK).
Gormley was awarded the Turner Prize in 1994, the South Bank Prize for Visual Art in 1999, the Bernhard Heiliger Award for Sculpture in 2007, the Obayashi Prize in 2012 and the Praemium Imperiale in 2013. In 1997 he was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) and was made a knight in the New Year's Honours list in 2014. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, an Honorary Doctor of the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity and Jesus Colleges, Cambridge. Gormley has been a Royal Academician since 2003.
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