Richard Deacon

Richard Deacon has generously produced As If Only, 2023, a limited edition artwork to celebrate 30 years of Tate St Ives in summer 2023. Deacon has played an important part in Tate St Ives history. His exhibition, Out of Order, presented in 2005, was specially commissioned for the unique spaces at St Ives, which included the curved sea-facing gallery and the sculpture court.

Deacon’s limited edition for Tate is part of an ongoing exploration of the potential of stone lithography and is one of the works in a continuing lithographic series printed in collaboration with Felix Bauer, Cologne, Germany. For Deacon, the principles of draughtsmanship and an emphasis on hands-on experimentation are key. Like many of Deacon’s works on paper, As If Only, 2023, presents a lyrical and organic form. The printed surface has the appearance of rock texture and the tonal value is in keeping with the appearance of natural properties.

Each print is signed and numbered by the artist and comes unframed. Prices of the artwork are liable to change. As a limited edition sells out, prices of the artwork are subject to increase and the price will be clearly indicated.

• Artist Richard Deacon
• Artwork As If Only
• Dimensions 51 x 45 cm
• Material Lithograph on Zerkall 210 gram paper
• Edition Edition of 80, signed and numbered on the front
• Date of work 2023

Richard Deacon (b. 1949, Bangor, Wales) is widely regarded as one of the principal British sculptors, best known for his innovative use of open form and his interest in materials and their manipulation. He works across many media and materials including steel, foam, rubber, wood, leather, marble, as well as prints and drawings on paper. He describes himself as a 'fabricator', for he neither carves nor models, but constructs using manufacturing or building techniques. Bending, shaping, twisting and joining are just a few of the structural manipulations he applies, as he combines organic forms with elements of engineering. His works, on both a domestic and monumental scale, use simple shapes to explore the ideas of language and the senses.

Selected solo exhibitions include Kula Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts, Split, Croatia (2021); Middelheim Museum, Antwerp, Belgium (2017); San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA, USA (2017); Prague City Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic (2017); Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany (2016), Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Switzerland (2015); Tate Britain, London, UK (2014); Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany (2011); Musée de la Ville de Strasbourg, France (2010); Tate St Ives (2005); PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, USA (2001); MACCSI, Caracas, Venezuela (1996); Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, UK (1989) and Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA (1988). Deacon represented Wales at the Venice Biennale, Italy (2007) and has participated in the Venice Architecture Biennale, Italy (2012), Glasgow International, UK (2006) and documenta 9, Kassel, Germany (1992). He won the Turner Prize in 1987 and the Robert Jakobsen Prize, Museum Wurth, Kunzelsau, Germany in 1995. He was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the Ministry of Culture, France in 1996 and made a CBE in 1999. He lives and works in London, UK.