Phillip King

(U.K.) *1934 in Tunis, Tunesia; †2021

Phillip King has strongly influenced sculpture in Britain since the 1960s. At that time he deliberately formulated a position that ran counter to the expressive/figurative sculpture predominant in postwar Europe. His works were so radically objective and abstract, the bodies kept in such stringent colours, that some associated him for a time with Minimal Art. The pieces shown at this year’s “Blickachsen” highlight enclosed space – two works from the 1980s. The strictly abstract nature of the works contrasts with the vivid titles that offer a broad range of interpretations. The orange-coloured luminescent sculpture “Fire in Taurus” alludes to the Latin name for the constellation of the zodiac, to the bull of Greek mythology and also brings to mind the Taurus mountain in the Middle East, where the sources of the Euphrates and Tigris lie, shaped by volcanic activity and earthquakes. The title of the other piece on show at “Blickachsen 6”, “Calvacade”, intimates the stylized profile of a rider and horse at second glance, despite the fact that the sculpture otherwise seems abstract.