One of Henry Moore’s studios – where he made casts of pebbles, shells, sheep bones and bird skulls picked up on walks, many later transformed into monumental bronze sculptures – will be recreated at the Gagosian gallery in London next month.
Moore loved the organic shapes of the modest treasures he brought back in his pockets, and often cast them directly in plaster. Scores of the original objects and fragile plaster casts survive in his maquette studio at his former home, Perry Green, in Hertfordshire, now a museum and the headquarters of the Henry Moore Foundation, whose director, Richard Calvocoressi, is curating the Gagosian show.
There will be an opportunity to compare the tiny originals and the finished works they inspired, as two full-size sculptures, the two-metre-tall Relief No 1 and Upright Motive No 9, will be installed in Berkeley Square to coincide with the exhibition, which will include four maquettes for these works.
Relief No 1 has been temporarily removed from its original home, the Bouwcentrum in Rotterdam, as its building is being redeveloped. The complete sculpture, commissioned in 1955, is made up of 16,000 hand-carved bricks that were laid by two master bricklayers over a period of months.
The exhibition will also feature more than 60 works on paper illustrating other natural objects and forms – including trees, sheep, birds, nude human figures and the artist’s own hands – that Moore transformed in his art.
• Henry Moore: Wunderkammer – Origin of Forms will run from 9 February to 2 April 2015 at the Gagosian, London W1
