The world looks back at Lynn Chadwick

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There are shows of the late sculptor’s work in three countries. Rosalind Ormiston reflects on an important British artist

The largest-ever display of works by English sculptor Lynn Chadwick (1914–2003), is currently on exhibition in three separate retrospectives being shown simultaneously at Blain/Southern in London (until 5 July) and Berlin (until 26 July), and at Blain DiDonna in New York (until 25 July).

An additional display of Chadwick’s monumental works was recently created by the London gallery in the courtyard of the Royal Academy of Arts, London and was on show until 16 May. It was the first time Chadwick’s four large-scale works, the 'beasts', Beast Alerted I, Stretching Beast I, Crouching Beast IIand Lion I(1989–90), had been shown together. Six smaller-scale 'beasts', dated 1990–1, in welded stainless steel, are currently exhibited at Blain/Southern's gallery in Hanover Square.

All Chadwick’s sculptures, from vast to small, serve to highlight the sensitivity and depth, and often the gentle humour of his work. He was a quiet man; many of his friends refer to him as a ‘loner’. In 1946, when his income allowed him to live where he wanted, he moved out of London, renting a house in Gloucestershire and eventually purchasing Lypiatt Park, near Stroud. He lived there from 1958 until his death in 2003. It continues to be the family home. The extensive grounds, holding many of Chadwick's sculptures, are open to the public. It is perhaps typical of the man that he wanted to share his works as much as possible – they can be seen in museums and galleries worldwide.

Chadwick first trained as a draughtsman in the office of architect Rodney Thomas. The visualizing of architectural constructs in large scale perhaps lies behind his unusual working method for creating sculptures without drawings or maquettes. He formed shapes from armatures made from steel rods welded together to form three-dimensional skeletal structures. This technique possibly developed from knowledge of his father’s skills as an engineer and his initial foray making three-dimensional mobiles in various materials in collaboration with Thomas. It led to the creation of stabiles, and sculpture.

Chadwick came to International attention in 1956 after winning the ‘International Prize for Sculpture’ at the 28th Venice Biennale with Teddy Boy and Girl (1955), a title that was connected to the rising youth culture in Britain in clothes, music, and lifestyle. This bronze is on exhibit at Blain/Southern, edition 5 of 6. It has to be seen. Chadwick’s response to such a phenomenal win in Venice – he had been working as a sculptor for only six years – was low key: ‘[It] was, I suppose rather like the girl being told that she’s Miss World. It was like a sort of drug; it elevated me a bit.’ It also elevated contemporary British sculpture; Chadwick had beaten the renowned Italian sculptor Alberto Giacometti, who was expected to win the coveted sculpture prize.

Teddy Boy and Girlcan be seen as the initial work that started Chadwick’s creation of many paired human figures. Looking at the sculptures on display at Blain/Southern even the most abstract works, such as the series of nine colourful ‘Pyramids’ (1966), made in formica and wood, have a human element. They cluster together as if in conversation. Other works not to miss are Stranger III (1959), Trigon (1961) and Moon of Alabama (1957). The gallery is displaying 26 works dating from 1955 to 1991.

To accompany the exhibitions a book has been published, Lynn Chadwick: The Sculptures at Lypiatt Park (2014), an overview of his work illustrating all the sculptures on display at his Gloucestershire home. The introduction is written by his daughter Sarah Chadwick.