Master Sculptor Tony Cragg Opens a Captivating Solo Show at Windsor in Florida
An array of bronze, steel, and glass works by the Turner Prize–winning artist are on view through May 19 at The Gallery at Windsor
A titan in the contemporary art world, Turner Prize–winning sculptor Sir Tony Cragg is known for his unique ability to create works that challenge our perceptions of space, form, and materiality. For his latest show, the influential British artist has brought a stellar selection of his enigmatic pieces to Windsor, the private seaside community located on a lush slice of Florida’s Atlantic coast. On view at The Gallery at Windsor through May 19, the solo exhibition was curated by art historian Dr. Jon Wood and features an array of sculptures made of bronze, steel, and glass as well as a selection of works on paper from the artist’s own trove. Notably, the show has even spilled out onto the enclave’s manicured grounds, where Cragg has also installed a large-scale fiberglass sculpture within an allée of palm trees.
“I’ve been making sculpture for 50 years,” says Cragg, who represented Britain at the 43rd Venice Biennale in 1988. “You don’t start from zero, you’re always starting on the basis of what you’ve learned in the past.” The cumulative nature of his practice is on full display at Windsor, with the majority of the works on view made within the past five years. An array of sketches and drawings serve to complement the sculptures, giving insight into Cragg’s creative process, which also includes exploring shapes by devising miniature models before moving to full-scale sizes. “Most of these sculptures were made in layers and layers of plywood, which allows me to change the form a lot,” he explains. “It’s not additive or subtractive, but it’s like old-fashioned sculpture, building it up and taking it down as I want to.”
