• Antony Gormley 2009 Exhibition
    19/11/2008

     Antony Gormley’s Field for the British Isles will be the centrepiece of a year of contemporary art at Torre Abbey in 2009. Built in 1196 by the ‘White Canons’ the Abbey is Torquay’s oldest building and its recent restoration will provide an unusual backdrop for Gormley’s thought-provoking installation.

    Perhaps most famous for his giant sculpture, Angel of the North, Gormley’s Turner-prize-winning Field series is a startling and arresting sight: thousands of unglazed, fired, small clay figures, standing closely together, all staring towards the viewer. The Field for the British Isles, comprising 40,000 clay figures, will fill much of the Abbey’s huge Spanish Barn and will be open to the public free of charge from 27th June to 23rd August 2009.

    The Spanish Barn is a medieval Tithe Barn originally built to store taxes paid to the Abbey in the form of grain, hay and other farm produce. The barn's unexpected name and its place in the history books were firmly established at the time of the Spanish Armada, when 397 prisoners were captured and held in the barn for a fortnight.  Field’s figures were made by a community of families in Humberside, under Gormley’s direction, using brick clay.  

    Field     has been described as a desert seen from afar, an endless beach, a glimpse of how many of us there are. One is left with the sober thought that there are more people alive now that have ever lived in the past. The world’s population doubles within the span of a single human lifetime. Gormley has said that one of the resonances of this work is that it is a reminder that there is only one humanity

    Able to boast the third largest permanent art collection in Devon, Torre Abbey is now part-gallery, part-museum, and part-historic house. The Abbey is open daily and, during the Field exhibition, will be hosting its annual contemporary art exhibition Blank Canvas.

    Keeper of Art, Amelia Marriette: "The exhibiting of Antony Gormley’s Field for the British Isles is the start of a new era for Torre Abbey as a major centre for contemporary arts in the region. I guarantee that Field will create a very strong impression on all that come to see it and experience it’s silent message. Gormley is one of Britain’s best known living artists and we know that visitors will travel far and wide to see his work. With Blank Canvas running alongside we can also make this event a fantastic opportunity for artists in the South West to showcase their work. It really is the beginning of something much bigger for Torre Abbey and for Torbay."

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