Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H , Case PD, Shelf 200, Box B

Untitled study

Drawing
1974 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The ceiling panels for Cleish Castle, Kinross, were commissioned in 1971 by the owner, architect Michael Spens, who was also a friend of Paolozzi. The work produced in low relief in metallized GRP(glass reinforced plastic) from plywood models represented something of a turning point for Paolozzzi, who had not worked in relief before. However, his fascination with the industrial and mechanical has always been fundamental to his work, and comes across in the imagery seen here which suggests both the circuit board and the comic (some of the geometry has a distinctly anthropomorphic feel, and in one or two places comic figures actually appear). There is also the sense of an architectural model, seen from above ( which in turn, because the panels were installed on the ceiling, is seen from 'below'). He produced a huge number of drawings related to the project, which were evidently very important within the overall process of bringing the panels to completion. The panels were later installed in The Dean Gallery, part of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleUntitled study (generic title)
Materials and techniques
pencil on white paper
Brief description
Untitled pencil drawing by Eduardo Paolozzi, 1974
Physical description
Portrait format image of quite thick, soft, black pencil strokes on white paper, of an abstract geometric pattern which appears to allude to figures, buildings and machinery. It comprises many closely drawn vertical and horizontal lines, with rather fewer diagonals and curves. Overall somewhat reminiscent of a circuit board. The paper appears to be a sheet torn from a sketchbook as there is a regular indented pattern on the top margin.
Dimensions
  • Drawn surface height: 23.3cm
  • Drawn surface width: 20.5cm
  • Sheet height: 25.4cm
  • Sheet width: 20.9cm
Marks and inscriptions
Eduardo Paolozzi 1974 (Signed and dated in pencil below the image on the right)
Credit line
Given by the artist
Production
This study is one of a group made while the artist was working on the sculptured relief panels for a ceiling at Cleish Castle, Fife, Scotland, and other projects prompted by the work for those reliefs.
It is not clear if the drawings held by the V&A which come from this group relate directly to the Cleish ceiling or not.
Summary
The ceiling panels for Cleish Castle, Kinross, were commissioned in 1971 by the owner, architect Michael Spens, who was also a friend of Paolozzi. The work produced in low relief in metallized GRP(glass reinforced plastic) from plywood models represented something of a turning point for Paolozzzi, who had not worked in relief before. However, his fascination with the industrial and mechanical has always been fundamental to his work, and comes across in the imagery seen here which suggests both the circuit board and the comic (some of the geometry has a distinctly anthropomorphic feel, and in one or two places comic figures actually appear). There is also the sense of an architectural model, seen from above ( which in turn, because the panels were installed on the ceiling, is seen from 'below'). He produced a huge number of drawings related to the project, which were evidently very important within the overall process of bringing the panels to completion. The panels were later installed in The Dean Gallery, part of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Taken from Departmental Circulation Registers: 1976-1977
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.41-1976

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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