Tony Cragg Sculptures and Drawings
2 May—21 Jun 2025
Buchmann Galerie

Tony Cragg Sculptures and Drawings

2 May—21 Jun 2025
Buchmann Galerie
Press release

The Buchmann Galerie is pleased to present the exhibition Sculptures and Drawings by Tony Cragg as part of Gallery Weekend Berlin 2025. Monumental sculptures from the series Industrial Nature are juxtaposed with an extensive body of 250 drawings from the past 40 years, titled Journal. This core group of works on paper is being shown in its entirety for the first time and represents the very essence of the German British sculptor’s graphic oeuvre.

 

The exhibition explores Tony Cragg‘s ongoing interest in the nexus between industrial materials and organic forms, demonstrating an intrinsic and multifaceted dialogue between the natural and the man-made. In the sculptures of the Industrial Nature series, Cragg explores a multifaceted dialogue between nature and technology: the organic, ellipsoid curved, leaf like shapes of the works evoke the dynamics and movement of natural processes, while simultaneously presenting a distinctly mechanical aesthetic. This tension between untamed form and strict tectonics speaks to the series’ highly topical theme of domesticated nature. After all, we are scarcely surrounded by wild nature nowadays; instead, a utilitarian and artificial understanding of nature prevails—nature tailored for human use and the human eye.

 

This interplay is also evident in the surface treatment of the sculptures. In the aluminium works Industrial Nature, the painted surfaces were meticulously worked over by the artist with a sanding tool, selectively stripping back the layers of paint to bare metal. The result is a richly nuanced interplay of smooth, glossy colour planes and raw areas, producing camouflage like tonal effects.

 

Journal, the suite of 250 drawings dating from 1986 to 2024 that Tony Cragg has selected from his extensive works on paper, is being presented here in its entirety to the public for the first time. This comprehensive selection presents a concise perspective on the artist's graphic engagement with form, space, and material. Broad in scope, each drawing captures a moment in his exhaustive search for formal principles; they sensitise the viewer to the subtle shifts of line, rhythm, and spatial relationship, and provide a unique insight into the artist’s creative thought process.

 

For decades, Cragg has worked passionately on the graphic medium, producing extensive series of works on paper. Drawing and working on paper constitute a fundamental method of artistic inquiry for him—what he describes as a “process of seeking knowledge.” The drawing, as a “discoverer of forms for […] imperceptible processes” (1), is thus central to Cragg’s project of heightening perception and fostering awareness.

 

Tony Cragg is counted among the foremost sculptors of our time. His work has been honoured with numerous prestigious awards—including the Turner Prize, the Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale for Sculpture, and an honorary knighthood from the British crown. He is also a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. The Buchmann Gallery has represented Tony Cragg since 1983 and has housed the artist‘s drawing archive for many years.

 

1.) Tony Cragg, in ‚Entdeckung der Zeichnung (Discovering the drawing), conversation between Armin Wildermuth and Tony Cragg‘, Tony Cragg. Drawings (Ostfildern, 1993), p. 16

Tony Cragg

Born 1949 in Liverpool. Lives and works in Wuppertal, Germany.

Education
2009 - 2013 Director of Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
2002 Professorship for sculpture at UdK Universität der Künste, Berlin 
Member of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin
1994 Member of the Royal Academy, London
1979 Professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
1973 - 1977 Royal College of Art
1968 - 1972 Gloucestershire College of Art and Design, Cheltenham und Wimbledon School of Art
1966 – 1968 Lab Technician at the National Rubber Producers Research Association
Grants and Awards
2017

Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award, International Sculpture Center

2016

Knight Bachelor of the British Empire

2013

Chaire de Création Artistique, Collège de France

Rheinischer Kulturpreis, Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Rheinland

2012 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1st Class
Artist's Medal of Honor of the Hermitage, Russia
2009 Honorary doctor of the Royal College of Arts
2007 Praemium Imperiale for Sculpture, The Japan Art Foundation
2005 1st Prize for Best Sculpture, 2. Biennale Beijing
2002 Commander of the Order of the British Empire
2001 Honorary Fellowship John Moores University, Liverpool
Shakespeare-Prize
1992 Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
1989 Von-der-Heydt-Prize, Wuppertal  
1988 Turner Prize
British
 Representative at the 43rd Venice Biennale

Solo Exhibitions

2025
2023
2021
2019
2018
2017
2015
2014
2013
2012
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Group Exhibitions

2025
2024
2023
2018
2017
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
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