Tomasso & Willoughby Gerrish ~ Emily Young: Carving in Time - Catalog - Page 6
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Carving in Time, 2021
At Tomasso, we are deeply engaged with carving as a sculptural practice from antiquity to the present day. As
such, we have for years admired the work of Emily Young - ‘Britain’s greatest living stone carver’. Her technique merges the 20th century approach of direct carving with a sensibility for surface texture and the pictorial
quality of stones steeped in the classical tradition, and follows in the footsteps of the great sculptors of Ancient
Greece, the master carvers of the Middle Ages, and the formidable artists of the Renaissance and beyond.
It is an honour to be working with an artist of such standing, and we are delighted to be organising this exhibition with Emily Young expert Willoughby Gerrish, who has worked with her for the past 15 years.
Dino and Raffaello Tomasso
From her earliest childhood, Emily Young was surrounded by stone carving. Living in Rome, and equally, as
a frequent visitor to the standing stones of Avebury, the concept of a sculptor in this most ancient of materials
was clear to her as a young woman.
Ever since I curated the exhibition of Emily’s work at the Madonna dell‘Orto for the 2013 Venice Biennale, I’ve
yearned to pair her sculptures with others from the Ancient and Roman worlds.
To collaborate with Tomasso on this project is a realisation of that original idea, that I’ve been searching for,
ever since that Venice show.
Tomasso are indeed one of the great sculpture dealing dynasties of the art world; a company respected by all
for their expertise and integrity. It is a huge pleasure to be bringing contemporary sculpture to their stunning
gallery in St James's, and an honour for both Emily and I to be working with them, and their Director Emanuela
Tarizzo.
Willoughby Gerrish
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