Gormley's works fuel new thoughts

Antony Gormley's exhibition at Long Museum shows sculptures, installations and drawings. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Internationally acclaimed artist Antony Gormley says his ongoing solo exhibition at Shanghai's Long Museum is in a way not his show or has nothing to do with him. He says it is an empty and open space for "new thoughts and new feelings to arise".

The London-born artist is known for his sculptures, installations and public art projects, which feature human body molds being chiefly cast from his own body. His distinctive approach invites people to investigate the possibilities of their own bodies as a space and their relationship with their surroundings.

"There are many levels at this exhibition (in Shanghai) but the real subject of it is you: Each and every visitor will make his own journey at this exhibition," says the 67-year-old.

"Their experiences, thoughts and feelings are really the subjects of the show."

Antony Gormley: Still Moving is the second show in China by the British artist, who won the Turner Prize in 1994 and has been a member of the Royal Academy of Arts since 2003.

The previous exhibition, titled Host, was held at Galleria Continua's space in Beijing.

The Shanghai exhibition has more of Gormley's works and for the first time, his drawings and lithographs created since 1981, providing an alternative perspective to understand his views of the human body and space.

Gormley is the latest addition to a star-studded lineup of foreign artists who have exhibited solo or in a group at the West Bund space of Long Museum, founded by the billionaire-turned-collector couple Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei.

Previous exhibitors include James Turrell, the American artist who primarily works with light and space, and the Danish-Icelandic artist, Olafur Eliasson.