INGE KING 1915-2016 Sorceress (1997-1999) bronze, unique signed ‘Inge King' on base 101 x 38 x 39 cm PROVENANCE Inge King, Melbourne Australian Galleries, Melbourne Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above on 17 June 2000 EXHIBITED Inge King: Sculpture, Australian Galleries, Sydney, 8 April – 1 May 1999, no. 13, illustrated Inge King, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 23 May – 17 June 2000, no. 11, illustrated LITERATURE Judith Trimble, Inge King: Rhythms of Life 1997-1999, Australian Galleries, Sydney, 1999, n.p. (illustrated) Sasha Grishin, The Art of Inge King: Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, pp. 340, 341 (illustrated), 375
INGE KING 1915-2016 Rings of the Moon (2) (2006) stainless steel signed 'I.K.' on base 62 x 90 x 90 cm PROVENANCE Inge King, Melbourne Australian Galleries, Melbourne Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above on 5 May 2006 EXHIBITED Inge King: Birds and Celestial Rings, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 9-28 May 2006, no. 4, illustrated LITERATURE Judith Trimble, Inge King: Birds and Celestial Rings, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 2006, n.p. (illustrated) Sasha Grishin, The Art of Inge King: Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, pp. 351, 352 (illustrated), 377
§ INGE KING 1915-2016 Monumental Sculpture for Brisbane High Court (Maquette I) (1992) polychrome bronze and paint, unique 28 x 16 x 15 cm PROVENANCE Inge King, Melbourne Australian Galleries, Melbourne Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above on 16 September 2011 EXHIBITED Summer Solstice, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 15 September - 9 October 2011, no. 14 LITERATURE Judith Trimble and Ken McGregor, Inge King, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2009, p. 91 (illustrated), '1st Maquette from Brisbane High Court' Sasha Grishin, The Art of Inge King: Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, pp. 210, 211 (illustrated), 337, 338 (illustrated), 373
INGE KING (1915-2016) Voodoo 1987 polychromed steel, edition of 6 initialled at base: IK. 162 x 16cm PROVENANCE: Australian Galleries, Melbourne Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITIONS: Inge King: An Exhibition of Sculpture, Australian Galleries, Collingwood, 13 - 30 April 1988 Inge King: Small Sculptures 1943 - 1994, Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, September - October 1995 (another example) LITERATURE: Thomas, D., Inge King: Small Sculptures 1943-1994, Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo 1995, cat. no 27, p.13 (illustrated, another example) Grishin, S., The Art of Inge King Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne 2014, pp. 186, 334 (illustrated, another example) OTHER NOTES: As an early female pioneer of modern Australian sculpture in what was largely a male dominated arena, Inge King has become one of Australia's most well-known sculptors. Born in Germany, Inge moved to Australia in 1951 with her husband, Australian artist Grahame King. The couple were instantly entwined and pursued their artistic careers in Melbourne where Grahame held a studio space with fellow artists, Fred Williams and John Brack. In 1952 and looking for a place of permanent sanctuary, Inge and Grahame purchased a block of land in the outer Melbourne suburb of Warrandyte with the intentions of building a home. After meeting Robin Boyd, the architect agreed to design a studio-house with a modular structure that could expand to accommodate the artists' practice. Their home served as a haven, ever increasing Grahame's prints and Inge's sculptures extending through the house into the garden, serving as a testimony to the creative lives lived within. Inge spent most of her life in her studio. She would create small models made of balsa wood mounted onto a rotating stand on which she could study from every angle and artfully alter before the decision was made to develop into a steel maquette. Each work carefully considered the space and surroundings of where it might sit, which was of the highest of importance in her large works specifically. A radical shift in Inge's practice was introduced in the 1980s with a more figurative approach, as shown through the creation of Jabaroo (now part of the permanent collection at McClelland Sculpture Park, Victoria). This sculpture resembles a figure like form using polychrome metal plates, standing at 4 metres tall. The transformation of King's conceptual form, brought her not only a newfound confidence, but took her in a new direction rather than cultivate and expand her audience with work for which she had already become known. A further inspiration for her figurative form was the revival of Shamanism and tribal art, evoking a talismanic state through her works. In 1987 at the age of seventy-three, Inge created a body of ten works akin to an influence of totems, all standing assertive and strong, distinguished and monumental. Made of polychrome steel, Voodoo is dominant yet with a feminine stance and embodies Inge's genuis with line and form. These ten sculptures were shown with Australian Galleries, Collingwood, in 1988. Creating sculptures in her Warrandyte studio up until her death in 2016, it was the sheer breadth of Inge's approach and innovative techniques that led her to be one of Australia's most important sculptors, male or female. 'Inge, a liberated woman, a thinker of clarity and a massive achiever. The wellbeing of Australia's culture is richer for her' (Stuart Purves, Director of Australian Galleries) Hannah Ryan Art Specialist (1) Grishin. S, The Art of Inge King Sculptor, Macmillian Art Publishing, Australia, 2014, p.178 (2) Purves, S, Farewell Inge King, Australian Galleries, 2016, www.australiangalleries.com.au/farewell-inge-king/ (accessed: 6 September 2022)
INGE KING 1915-2016 Lookout (Maquette for a City Plaza Sculpture) (1973) painted steel 61 x 96.5 x 33 cm PROVENANCE Inge King, Melbourne Victor Mace Galleries, Brisbane James Baker, Brisbane, acquired from the above in 1978 Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane 143 Works from the Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, Sotheby's Australia, Melbourne, 21 June 1992, lot 127 Harry Oviss, Melbourne, acquired from the above The Estate of the Late Harry Oviss, Melbourne EXHIBITED Inge King: Maquettes for Monumental Sculptures, Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne, 2-14 April 1973 The Kings, City of Mildura Arts Centre, Mildura, and tour, 1975-1976, no. 39, illustrated Inge King: Sculptures 1972-77, Victor Mace Galleries, Brisbane, 17 September - 7 October 1978, no. 7 LITERATURE Thomas G. McCullough, Margaret Plant and Lillian Wood, The Kings, City of Mildura Arts Centre, Mildura, 1975, (illustrated) Judith Trimble, Inge King: Sculptor, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1996, pp. 88 (illustrated), 89, 188, 200, 208 Sasha Grishin, The Art of Inge King: Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, pp. 137 (illustrated), 321 (illustrated), 369
INGE KING 1915-2016 Point of View (2002) bronze signed 'IK' on base 20 x 14 x 12 cm PROVENANCE Inge King, Melbourne Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above
INGE KING (1915-2016) Venus bronze, unique cast 102.5cm (height) PROVENANCE: Private collection, Melbourne Thence by descent EXHIBITIONS: Sculpture, Australian Galleries, Sydney, 8 April - 1 May 1997, cat. no. 3 OTHER NOTES: From her arrival in Australia in 1950, Inge King AM was one of Australia's most dynamic and revered sculptors. She was a pivotal part of the Centre 5 group, founded in 1961, whose aim was to increase public awareness of sculpture within Australia. The group included Julius Kane, Lenton Parr, Vincas Jomantas, Clifford Last and Norma Redpath. By the 1990s, Inge King was one of Australia's most recognised sculptors, with decades of exhibition history and major public commissions already under her belt. But, it was this particular decade that saw a return to figuration and the processes of collage in her work. The technique she used, largely the assemblage of abstract forms in steel or bronze, was in some ways a return to her earlier 1940s and 1960s work. This new direction for Inge stemmed from a major commission she was awarded for a Melbourne office foyer. The work, titled Joie de vivre, was constructed from a series of flat abstract planes, originally created in fibreboard and then each plane cast into bronze. Each plane was then assembled and fixed with a welder, and finally the surface coloured and patinated. Inge followed this method throughout the next decade, where her sculptures took on the forms of gods, angels, and celestial beings. This new subject matter "extends the trend begun with the totemic figures of the 1980s and has much significance for the large body of works involving rings created throughout the 2000s" (Sasha Grishin). Whilst her angels display a sense of movement, Inge's gods exhibit a quiet solemnity and monumentality. Her representation of Helios 1992, the god of the sun, stands firmly with large semi-circular discs held high in glory, facing upwards to the light resembling both the sun's shape and the outline of wings. Similarly, Inge's Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, exhibits a strong central line standing at just over one metre in height. Representations of Venus in history centre on fertility and femininity, often depicting her wearing a crown and in nude form. In Inge's sculpture here we see Venus standing strong and tall, her womanly shape possibly noted through the circular breasts before her crown-shaped head with a regal bearing. She is strong, imposing, alluring and powerful much like Venus herself. Olivia Fuller, Head of Art
INGE KING 1915-2016 Bird Symbol (1986) painted polychrome steel 204 x 33 x 28 cm PROVENANCE Inge King, Melbourne Mrs Rae Rothfield, Melbourne, acquired from the above in May 1989 EXHIBITED Inge King, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 13-30 April 1988, no. 4, illustrated LITERATURE David Thomas, Inge King: Small Sculptures 1943-1994, Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, 1995, p. 13 (illustrated) Judith Trimble, Inge King: Sculptor, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1996, pp. 135, 139 (illustrated), 204, 210 Sasha Grishin, The Art of Inge King: Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, pp. 187 (illustrated), 333 (illustrated), 371
INGE KING 1915-2016 Great Boulder (1967-1968) painted steel, unique 212 x 106.5 x 99 cm PROVENANCE Private Collection, Sydney Private Collection, New South Wales, by descent from the above LITERATURE Judith Trimble, Inge King: Sculptor, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1996, pp. 62 (illustrated), 63, 199 Sasha Grishin, The Art of Inge King: Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, pp. 94, 96 (illustrated), 318 (illustrated), 368
INGE KING 1915-2016 Bird Symbol (1986) painted polychrome steel 204 x 33 x 28 cm PROVENANCE Inge King, Melbourne Mrs Rae Rothfield, Melbourne, acquired from the above in May 1989 EXHIBITED Inge King, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 13-30 April 1988, no. 4, illustrated LITERATURE David Thomas, Inge King: Small Sculptures 1943-1994, Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, 1995, p. 13 (illustrated) Judith Trimble, Inge King: Sculptor, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1996, pp. 135, 139 (illustrated), 204, 210 Sasha Grishin, The Art of Inge King: Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, pp. 187 (illustrated), 333 (illustrated), 371
INGE KING 1915-2016 Untitled (1960s) welded steel 28.2 x 16 x 13 cm PROVENANCE Niagara Galleries, Melbourne Mrs Rae Rothfield, Melbourne, acquired from the above on 18 April 1997
INGE KING 1915-2016 Bush Family (1960, cast 1989) bronze, edition of 6 cast in 1989 signed 'ik' on base 33.5 x 24 x 12.5 cm PROVENANCE Inge King, Melbourne Mrs Rae Rothfield, Melbourne, acquired from the above in May 1989 LITERATURE Judith Trimble, Inge King: Sculptor, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1996, p. 197 (illustrated) Sasha Grishin, The Art of Inge King: Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, pp. 83 (illustrated), 312 (illustrated), 366
INGE KING (1915-2016), Rings of the Sun III 2004 stainless steel 200.0 x 200.0 x 235.0 cm Private commission for the Corval company collection, Melbourne Private collection, Melbourne Menzies, Sydney, 30 November 2017, lot 39 The private collection of Mr Rodney Menzies
INGE KING, (1915 – 2016) , UNFOLDING FORM (MAQUETTE), c.1962, painted steel DIMENSIONS: 138.0 cm height PROVENANCE: Mr Graham Ducker, Sydney, acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent Private collection, Sydney LITERATURE: Grishin, S., The Art of Inge King Sculptor, 2014, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, p. 367 RELATED WORK: Unfolding Form, 1962, steel painted black, 152.4 cm height, formerly private collection, Adelaide, illus. in Grishin, S., The Art of Inge King Sculptor, 2014, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, p. 94 ESSAY: Inge King, an émigré artist from central Europe, was so moved by the power of the Australian landscape that she sought to create sculptural works expressing her experience of this new place, resistant to and reflective of the heat and light that characterises the land . Unfolding Form (Maquette), c.1962 belongs to an important series of the artist’s non-representational welded assemblages which is characterised by the careful placement of two-dimensional planes to create tension and movement. Taking their visual cues from the prevailing idiom of contemporary constructed sculpture that was pure geometry and gestural expressionism, these works are reminiscent of those by artists such as Lynn Chadwick and Clement Meadmore, particularly his early planar constructions. Within King’s larger oeuvre, the series of planar forms lies between more organic early assemblages and the volumetric explorations of her Boulder series. Clustered around a central vertical axis, the tightly integrated planes of Unfolding Form (Maquette) seem to do just that – unfold. Unfurling progressively like an accordion, the flat sheets of cut metal are arranged on a base to provide a myriad of disparate viewpoints. The unequal size and height of each plane creates an expanded arena in which to explore the play of light and shadow, producing effects of spatial enclosure and dissection. For King, an artist who remarkably found early public endorsement for monumental works, the creation of maquettes was central to her practice and these now account for a large proportion of her works in private collections. This version of Unfolding Form is significant, not only because it is among the last of her planar works of the early 1960s, but also because it is the last remaining example of this construction. Its related work, the larger Unfolding Form, was unfortunately destroyed by bushfires in the Adelaide Hills in 1984.1 Standing at a mere 12 cm taller than this maquette, Unfolding Form was installed en plein air, atop a naturally formed boulder. Inspired by the work of her Melburnian peer, Lenton Parr, Inge King took up welding in 1959. Facing not insignificant public hostility to sculpture as well as a local cultural climate sceptical about abstract art, King nevertheless used this new skill to translate the liberated gestures of Abstract Expressionism into three dimensions. Edward Lucie-Smith, in his survey of modern sculpture, was careful to note that this new expressionist style was executed by sculptors with greater difficulty than it had been by painters.2 As her welding skills developed, King sought out techniques beyond her primary need to join multiple planes of sheet metal, and instead looked for ways of creating visually interesting texture. Unfolding Form (Maquette) exemplifies this achievement, in spite of its marked restriction of formal means. Balancing vertical and horizontal tension, the visibility of each plane of Unfolding Form (Maquette) relies on the contrast between smooth cut surface and raised beads of molten steel, lying along the edges of each sheet and in the recesses between them. It is through these surprising embellishments and juxtapositions that we feel the presence
INGE KING (1915-2016), Shearwater II 1994 painted composition board assemblage 100.0 x 68.0 x 85.0 cm unique| signed with initials to base: IK Private commission for the Esso Australia (later ExxonMobil), Melbourne, 1994 Grishin, S., The Art of Inge King: Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, p.374
INGE KING, (1915 – 2016), STELLAR WHEEL, 2010, stainless steel SIGNED: signed with initials at base: IK DIMENSIONS: 71.5 cm height (including base) PROVENANCE: Private collection, Adelaide, acquired directly from the artist in 2011 LITERATURE: Grishin, S., The Art of Inge King Sculptor, 2014, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, pp. 348, 359, 360 (illus.), 380 ESSAY: In brilliant contrast to Inge King’s expressive and brooding early assemblages (see lot 37), Stellar Wheel, 2010 glimmers with a futuristic presence. An example of King’s final Celestial Rings series , Stellar Wheel is the product of the convergence of many different lines of inquiry in her oeuvre: the circular form, process-driven art making and expressions inspired by new discoveries in science and technology. Created late in life, many of these works reused elements and compositional structures from earlier sculptures. Stellar Wheel itself is closely related to an unpatinated bronze sculpture from 2002 called Capriccio. Both feature flat segments of a circle, arranged in a fragmented mandala radiating from a central void. It was with youthful exuberance that King harnessed her excitement about the dawn of a new century, and the technological progress that would accompany this transition. She translated her excitement into monumental works featuring sacred geometry from which emanated a spiritual energy, describing the series as ’very positive … life affirming works’.1 Recalling her early wall sculptures, the mechanical precision of King’s approach allowed her to explore the inherent qualities of her chosen medium – steel. King chose to use stainless steel for her sculptures of celestial bodies, transforming it into sleek and shiny planes that would convey a movement and lightness in direct contrast to the heavy immobility of their physical reality. ’I use stainless steel to create lightness and floating movement’, she explained.2 The scintillating scoured surface of these steel planes (an effect created with an angle-grinder) evokes the swirling gases and matter of the universe. These surface striations also allowed for a greater range of reflective effects, incorporating the viewer into the artwork, but crucially, also encouraging them to move around it. These seams and marks are the only evidence of human intervention in this construction, functioning in a similar way to the molten beads of steel that clustered along the edges of her structures in the 1960s. The circular form had been a constant source of artistic inspiration for King since at least the 1970s. With increasingly reduced formal means, King created assemblages that were easily translated into monumental size. The energy that radiates from these works resides in the geometric tension between centrifugal and centripetal forces. The idea of movement, of rotational and cyclical rhythm, is alluded to in King’s title for this work, Stellar Wheel. The angular, interlocking design of each segment of the circular form marries contemporary machine aesthetic with designs reminiscent of ancient Celtic culture. In conjunction with a cosmic theme, the circular form comes to represent the dynamic and demiurgic nature of the universe, echoing the long-lasting presence Inge King created for herself in the landscape of Australian art. 1. The artist quoted in Hurlston, D., and Eckett, J., Constellation, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2014 2. The artist quoted in Grishin, S., Inge King Sculptor, Macmillan, Melbourne, 2014, p. 260 LUCIE REEVES-SMITH
INGE KING, (1915 – 2016), UNFOLDING FORM (MAQUETTE), c.1962, painted steel DIMENSIONS: 138.0 cm height PROVENANCE: Private collection, Sydney, acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent Private collection, Sydney LITERATURE: Grishin, S., The Art of Inge King Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, p. 367 RELATED WORK: Unfolding Form, 1962, steel painted black, 152.4 cm height, formerly private collection, Adelaide, illus. in Grishin, S., The Art of Inge King Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, p. 94 ESSAY: Inge King, an émigré artist from central Europe, was so moved by the power of the Australian landscape that she sought to create sculptural works expressing her experience of this new place, resistant to and reflective of the heat and light that characterises the land . Unfolding Form, (Maquette), c.1962 belongs to an important series of the artist’s non-representational welded assemblages which is characterised by the careful placement of two-dimensional planes to create tension and movement. Taking their visual cues from the prevailing idiom of contemporary constructed sculpture that was pure geometry and gestural expressionism, these works are reminiscent of those by artists such as Lynn Chadwick and Clement Meadmore, particularly his early planar constructions. Within King’s larger oeuvre, the series of planar forms lies between more organic early assemblages and the volumetric explorations of her Boulder series. Clustered around a central vertical axis, the tightly integrated planes of Unfolding Form (Maquette) seem to do just that – unfold. Unfurling progressively like an accordion, the flat sheets of cut metal are arranged on a base to provide a myriad of disparate viewpoints. The unequal size and height of each plane creates an expanded arena in which to explore the play of light and shadow, producing effects of spatial enclosure and dissection. For King, an artist who remarkably found early public endorsement for monumental works, the creation of maquettes was central to her practice and these now account for a large proportion of her works in private collections. This version of Unfolding Form is significant, not only because it is among the last of her planar works of the early 1960s, but also because it is the last remaining example of this construction. Its related work, the larger Unfolding Form, was unfortunately destroyed by bushfires in the Adelaide Hills in 1984.1 Standing at a mere 12cm taller than this maquette, Unfolding Form was installed en plein air, atop a naturally formed boulder. Inspired by the work of her Melburnian peer, Lenton Parr, Inge King took up welding in 1959. Facing not insignificant public hostility to sculpture as well as a local cultural climate sceptical about abstract art, King nevertheless used this new skill to translate the liberated gestures of Abstract Expressionism into three dimensions. Edward Lucie-Smith, in his survey of modern sculpture, was careful to note that this new expressionist style was executed by sculptors with greater difficulty than it had been by painters.2 As her welding skills developed, King sought out techniques beyond her primary need to join multiple planes of sheet metal, and instead looked for ways of creating visually interesting texture. Unfolding Form (Maquette) exemplifies this achievement, in spite of its marked restriction of formal means. Balancing vertical and horizontal tension, the visibility of each plane of Unfolding Form (Maquette) relies on the contrast between smooth cut surface and raised beads of molten steel, lying along the edges of each sheet and in the recesses between them. It is through these surprising embellishments and juxtapositions that we feel the presence of the late artist – having left clear traces of her hand burnt into the metal with a fierce oxy-acetylene flame. 1. Grishin, S., Inge King Sculptor, Macmillan Publishing, Melbourne, 2014, p. 367 2. Lucie-Smith, E., Sculpture since 1945, Phaidon, Oxford, 1987, p. 44 LUCIE REEVES-SMITH
INGE KING (1915-2016), Rings of the Sun III 2004 INGE KING (1915-2016), Rings of the Sun III 2004 stainless steel, 200.0 x 200.0 x 235.0 cm , , Private commission for the Corval company collection, Melbourne Private collection, Melbourne
INGE KING, (1915 – 2016), SHOUTING ANGELS, 1994, bronze SIGNED: signed and dated on base: Inge King 94 DIMENSIONS: 85.0 x 95.0 x 118.0 cm PROVENANCE: Australian Galleries, Sydney The Estate of the late James O. Fairfax AC, Sydney, acquired from the above in 1999 EXHIBITED: Recent Sculpture by Inge King, Australian Galleries, Sydney, 8 April 1999 – 1 May 1999, cat. 5 RELATED WORK: Singing Child, 1993, bronze, 82.0 x 41.0 x 68.0 cm, illus. in Trimble, J., Inge King Sculptor, Art and Australia and Craftsman House, Sydney, 1996, p. 164 ESSAY: Unfolding laterally in space like a flower, the forms of Inge King’s Shouting Angels,1994 are caught in an eternal tussle. A dynamic example of her refined series of ‘angel’ compositions, this work displays the verve and maturity of composition that characterised the late figurative works of the doyenne of Australian sculpture. Classically trained in the United Kingdom and Germany, King became a pre-eminent figure in the development of non-objective art in Australia, not only encouraging the application of a modernist aesthetic within the sculptural practice of her adoptive home, but also lobbying to integrate sculpture within the urban environment. Following on from the exuberant figurative works of 1992 and 1993, which translated balletic and gymnastic movement into static and planar forms, the works of King’s ‘angel series’ had simplified compositions, smoother outlines and a more marked spiritual presence. Assembled from disjointed and intersecting planes of sheet metal, Shouting Angels is at once a three-dimensional mass and a collage of flat surfaces assembled across dimensions. Rearticulating the interaction between the volume of a sculpture and the space around it, King’s works integrate negative space within their forms, rather than simply displacing it, creating sculptures that suggest a thousand different angles of vision. Graeme Sturgeon, eminent curator and scholar of Australian sculpture, wrote of the seductive and tantalising appeal of King’s sculptures: ‘we are denied any sense of formal predictability, the complexity of the relationship, and the distinctiveness of different views, mean that the work eludes our intellectual grasp, constantly renewing out interest as we move about it’.1 The late James O. Fairfax responded to the tense and balanced composition of Shouting Angels, displaying it on a pedestal in the gardens of his weekend home at Bilgola in Sydney’s northern beaches. In this environment, while the curved forms of the sculpture stretched out towards the horizon, the briny breeze created a pale green patina and the work carries this Verdigris surface proudly. The constantly evolving nature of outdoor sculpture was something that King enjoyed, declaring in 2006: ‘Multidimensional objects look different from every angle. The exciting thing about outdoor sculpture is the change with the light, the weather ... everything is in constant flux. It becomes almost a living entity’.2 Suspended in a tense opposite movement, the geometric forms that compose each of the angels’ figures are unapologetic and bold. Shouting Angels features clearer and more pronounced curved shapes than the earlier Joie De Vivre sculptures, inspired by Paul Klee’s schematic figuration as opposed to the gestural formalism of Matisse’s cut-outs that had fed into King’s earlier works. The disjunctive planes suggesting discord rather than the introspective humility of other works in the series, Shouting Angels illustrates King’s longstanding intention to visually translate the exquisite problems of human existence. 1. Sturgeon, G., ‘Inge King. An Obdurate Certainty’, Art and Australia, Sydney, vol. 51, no. 4, winter 2014, p. 533 2. The artist quoted in Sta
INGE KING, (1915 2016), DERVISH (MAQUETTE II), 1991, polychrome steel DIMENSONS: 70.0 cm height PROVENANCE Australian Galleries, Melbourne The Estate of the late James O. Fairfax AC, New South Wales, acquired from the above in 1991 EXHIBITED: Joie De Vivre: An Exhibition of Recent Sculptures by Inge King, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, September October 1991 RELATED WORKS: Dervish, 1991, painted bronze, 167.0 x 132.0 x 100.0 cm, exhibited in Inge King: Large and Small Bronze Sculptures, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 26 April 22 May 1993 ESSAY: Teetering precariously with joyful and flamboyant expression, Inge Kings second maquette of Dervish is imbued with a sense of movement that contradicts the solidity of its assemblage. Although directly descended from her geometric totemic sculptures, Kings dancing silhouettes were the most figurative artworks of her later career. They retained the planar quality of her abstract works, becoming three-dimensional collages of sheet metal. Inspired by Henri Matisses iconic decoupages, 1 Dervish and its accompanying dancers interact with the space around them the intersecting planes of their construction playing with depth and shadow, extending their outermost limits beyond the physical boundaries that confine them. The surprising addition of small elements of colour assisted the creation of not only significance and shape, but also extremity, distance, and advancing and receding planes. 2 While the seventies and eighties were characterised by the realisation of Kings abstract maquettes into large scale public sculptures, the decade that followed showed a radical reframing of the artists vision: smaller, autonomous objects, introduction of colour and clearer representational forms. Perhaps a product of her confidence as a mature sculptor, this new direction was joyful and showed a greater connection to her European artistic heritage. King was not alone in adopting a more figurative and object-based approach to sculpture in the latter half of the eighties, as Maudie Palmer noted in her review of Australian Sculpture Now, the Second Australian Sculpture Triennial at the National Gallery of Victoria in the summer of 1984 85. 3 James Fairfax acquired this maquette from the Joie de Vivre solo exhibition the artist held at Australian Galleries in Sydney, complementing her larger sculpture he already had installed in the gardens at Retford Park. Celebrating the joy of life, the sculptures of this exhibition synthesised human movement into single stylised static pose, embodying the pregnant moment, theorised by 18th century philosopher Gotthold Lessing, linking form to a temporal background. While the dancers are stylised, they are not idealised. The awkward poses they adopt evoke the recognisable movements of human expression, both performative and anodyne. King has also attempted to introduce a further sensory element sound. Poised to stamp his foot on the ground, the dervish is suspended in action, his centre of gravity dangerously off-kilter. Critics at the time applauded the grace, ease and gaiety of the works in the exhibition at Australian Galleries, one even noted their musicality. King herself considered Joie de Vivre to have been her most important exhibition. 4 1. Inge King had a print of Henri Matisses Icarus hanging in her house. 2. Trimble, J., Inge King. Sculptor, Art and Australia and Craftsman House, Sydney, 1996, p. 141 3. Palmer, M., quoted in Trimble, J., op cit., p. 143 4. Trimble, J., op cit., pp. 148 149 LUCIE REEVES-SMITH Sydney Gallery Manager Deutscher and Hackett
INGE KING born 1918 Thoughtful Angel (Second Version) (1993) bronze signed and dated 111 x 60 x 56 cm PROVENANCE Australian Galleries, Melbourne Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above in 1996 EXHIBITED Inge King: Angels and other Bronzes,Australian Galleries, 9 August - 3 September 1994, no. 7 Inge King: Sculpture, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 2-28 September 1996, no.9 LITERATURE Judith Trimble, Inge King: Sculptor, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1996, pp. 164, 206 PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, MELBOURNE
INGE KING born 1915 Two is a Crowd 1985 powder-coated steel 100.0 x 128.0 x 104.0 cm (overall) element i: 101.0 x 100.5 x 52.0 cm element ii: 93.0 x 92.5 52.0 cm This work is the second version of a larger work of the same title
INGE KING born 1918 Windspirit 1998 bronze 29 x 45 x 40 cm PROVENANCE Australian Galleries, Melbourne (label attached) Private Collection, Melbourne EXHIBITED Smyrnios Gallery, Melbourne CHECK PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, MELBOURNE
Inge King born 1918 JESTER bronze DIMENSIONS 57.0 cm height PROVENANCE Australian Galleries, Sydney(label attached to base) Collection of Lex Aitken andAlfredo (Bouret) Gonzalez, Sydney
INGE KING born 1918 Two is a Crowd 1985 element i: 101.0 x 100.5 x 52.0 cm element ii: 93.0 x 92.5 52.0 cm This work is the second version of a larger work of the same title
