Antony Gormley is probably best well-known for his iconic ‘Angel of the North’, imposingly situated beside the A1 near Gateshead.  However, this 20-metre high landmark sculpture is just one of a host of memorable pieces that he has created during the course of a prolific career that already spans over four decades.   Having known Gormley since he was a student at the Slade and written two books on the artist’s drawings, I review the development of this major British sculptor from a unique perspective.  In the context of his work overall, I examine his continuous fascination with the body as a place – both of experience and of interaction with its surroundings.   

Anna is a London-based lecturer and writer specialising in contemporary art. During the 1990s, she oversaw the development of the subject as the first Master’s Degree at Sotheby’s Institute. She has also taught at other institutions in London including The City Lit, the Royal Academy and Tate, as well as lecturing in cities ranging from Dubai to New York and Berlin to Sydney. She continues to offer guest lectures on the Sotheby’s Institute MA in Contemporary Art. Apart from the many catalogue essays she has written on living artists, many of whom are women, her books include Abstract Art (1990, enlarged ed. 2020) and Sculpture Now(2013), both published by Thames & Hudson, and two books on the drawings of Antony Gormley, whose work she has curated at MACRO, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome. She enjoys introducing art to audiences in a lively and approachable way to make modern and contemporary art both accessible and interesting.