Alex Hartley

Description

Pavilion was made as a result of Alex Hartley winning the Sculpture at Goodwood Art2000 Commission Prize, launched in conjunction with the London Contemporary Art Fair and sponsored by Sculpture at Goodwood. This prize is the first of its kind in Britain.

This is undoubtedly one of Hartley's most impressive works, which was shown originally outside the entrance to the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, in January 2000 at the time of the London Contemporary Art Fair. The scale of Pavilion gives the impression that this is architecture rather than sculpture - both ironical and apt, as an abiding interest in architecture lies at the roots of Hartley's sculpture and wall pieces. In fact this is a massive light box, in which carefully lit interior constructions and photographic panels give the illusion of rooms, steps, corridors and structures. The overhanging canopy and stone forecourt reinforce its presence as architecture, but nothing adds up and we are left mesmerised.

The environmental light, whether it is sunny or cloudy, at early morning, at dusk or at dark, also has an effect on our perception of Pavilion. At times the interior is clearly defined and at others barely visible. Hartley says that at night the luminosity is far more dramatic. 'It'll flare and almost burn your retina,' he predicted in an interview with Richard Cork in Talking Sculpture, a supplement to the January 2000 edition of The Art Newspaper. He added, 'I'd like viewers to feel themselves pulled towards it, and find that the views inside Pavilion look more real than the urban space surrounding it.' In the woodland setting of Goodwood Pavilion has a strong presence which contrasts with but is also in strange harmony with its surroundings. Here it glows and floats in the dark, just as Hartley had intended.