New in the Park I David Annesley
““Annesley’s works play with the idea of containers within containers, and they manipulate colour relationships which in turn affect the spectator’s sense of space.””
Left:
David Annesley
Untitled, 1969
Painted aluminium
223.5 x 210.2 x 61 cm
88 x 82 ¾ x 24 in.
Edition 2 of 3
Enquire
Right:
David Annesley
Untitled, 1969
Painted aluminium
223.5 x 210.2 x 61 cm
88 x 82 ¾ x 24 in.
Edition 2 of 3
Enquire
Newly sited at Roche Court Sculpture Park, David Annesley’s colourful and finely balanced linear forms convey a sense of weightlessness. Their lack of bulk and bright colours defy the undertaking of their creation, and engage in an intriguing dialogue with the verdant and natural landscape around them. Every element obeys a logic which justifies its particular position in the sculpture as a whole. As Ian Dunlop writes in his essay for The New Generation exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1964; “They seem as self-sufficient as a suspension bridge. The stresses and strains are carefully balanced. Each element has its function and if any one strut or beam were removed one imagines the whole structure might collapse.”.
David Annesley was born in London in 1936. Following his education in England, Australia and Zimbabwe, he completed National Service in 1958, going on to enrol at St Martin’s School of Art to study painting. He soon transferred to sculpture to study under Anthony Caro, and worked as his studio assistant with fellow student and sculptor, Michael Bolus. In 1961, Annesley graduated, and tutored at the Croydon College of Art, St Martin’s and Central School of Art and Design, London. In 1964, he was introduced by Anthony Caro to the internationally recognised American painter, Kenneth Noland. David Annesley stayed with Noland in Vermont regularly over the subsequent years, their friendship encouraging Annesley’s exploration of colour relationships.
Annesley received early acclaim for his involvement in The New Generation, a 1965 exhibition curated by Bryan Robertson at the Whitechapel Gallery, London. Robertson ran the Whitechapel Gallery between 1952 and 1968, and was a frequent visitor to Roche Court. The New Generation showcased work by sculptors who had been taught by Anthony Caro at St Martin’s, and was defined by the new approach of placing sculptures directly on the ground, an approach taught and popularised by Caro. David Annesley’s first solo exhibition was held at The Waddington Galleries, London, in 1966, and in 1995, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.
David Annesley’s work is included in numerous major public collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; Nagoya City Art Museum, Japan; the Tate, London; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; National Museums of Northern Ireland and the British Council Collection.
David Annesley
Untitled, 1969
Painted aluminium
223.5 x 210.2 x 61 cm
88 x 82 ¾ x 24 in.
Edition 2 of 3
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