Robert Adams 1917-1984
The present work belongs to a series of 'Ovoid Variations', each a celebration of organic abstract form, suggesting growth and the beginnings of life through the oval form. This was a successful period for Adams, with solo exhibitions in Australia, the US and Zurich, as well as his work featuring in the exhibitions 'British Sculpture in the Twentieth Century' Part I and II at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 1981.
Adams one of the most innovative and important sculptors working in Post-War Britain, developing a distinct abstract language. He came to prominence as part of the new generation of British sculptors exhibited in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 1952, alongside the likes of Lynn Chadwick, Kenneth Armitage, Eduardo Paolozzi and William Turnbull. Adams' work is held in public collections internationally, including the Arts Council Collection, the Tate Gallery, London, the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.
Provenance
Gimpel Fils, LondonPrivate collection, from whom purchased by present owner, March 2019
Literature
Alastair Grieve, 'The Sculpture of Robert Adams', Henry MooreFoundation/Lund Humphries, London, 1992, no.670, p.240.
