New Waddington Custot exhibition explores the art of Barry Flanagan
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, September 18, 2025


New Waddington Custot exhibition explores the art of Barry Flanagan
Barry Flanagan, Hare, 1984. Bronze, 33 x 15 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. 83.8 x 39.4 x 24.1 cm.



LONDON.- Waddington Custot presents ‘Barry Flanagan: Two by Two’, an exhibition of bronze sculptures by one of Britain’s most distinctive and imaginative sculptors. Bringing together works made between 1983 and 2008, the exhibition explores the dialogue between paired animal forms, most notably the hare, for which Flanagan is best known. These dynamic pairings invite reflection on themes of duality, performance, and play. The exhibition also marks forty-five years since Flanagan’s first solo show at Waddington Custot (then Waddington Galleries) in 1980.

Flanagan’s practice was shaped by a deep engagement with landscape, myth, and material. The seasons, ancient symbols, and local folklore – alongside an enduring interest in process – inflect his practice. From the 1980s onwards, Flanagan’s turn to bronze marked a new phase in his work, enabling a synthesis between classical, sculptural tradition and the idiosyncratic, conceptual impulses of his earlier work. His initial experiments with materials such as sand, cloth, and rope reflected an interest in process, spontaneity, and the absurdist logic of ‘pataphysics’ – Alfred Jarry’s “science of imaginary solutions.” In bronze, Flanagan found new ways to carry forward these ideas.

While the hare remains one of Flanagan’s most recognised figures, it is with frequent warmth and wit that animals of all kinds populate Flanagan’s oeuvre; hares, elephants, dogs and horses, moulded first in clay and then cast into bronze, fuse the everyday, the imaginary and the fantastical. Within this, Flanagan is perhaps best known for his dynamic and often monumental bronze hares, which spring into life as one of his most important characters. Presented in differing poses in a variety of sizes and combinations, among bronzes made over 30 years, hares proliferate. Viewed together, the bronze figures become a comment on the archetype of classical sculpture.

Flanagan’s animals are distinctly anthropomorphic – leaping, boxing, or pausing mid-pirouette. In many ways, they became a versatile surrogate for the human figure: theatrical, animated, and contemplative. Through this motif, Flanagan explored questions of identity, gesture, and emotion, drawing on sources from folklore to philosophy, while maintaining the playful, subversive tone that defined his earlier work.

Flanagan’s use of the pair in much of his sculptural practice nods to his intention for his sculptures not to be autonomous objects, but instead, characters in conversation. A hallmark of Flanagan’s ideal exhibition was this sense of interplay between works, in which meaning emerges through juxtaposition. In ‘Two by Two’, this relational approach is central: the animals perform together, balancing, mirroring, or responding to one another in ways that animate the space between them. Each figure carries an anthropomorphic charge, embodying the humorous, poignant, and celebratory qualities that run throughout Flanagan’s work.

Barry Flanagan: Two by Two invites viewers to consider how repetition, pairing, and performance shaped the artist’s bronze sculpture. Moving beyond the iconic hare, the exhibition opens up a wider understanding of Flanagan’s sculptural imagination: absurdist, playful, and layered.










Today's News

September 18, 2025

The Japanese Haori: New art book features unknown Japanese art

Bradley Theodore brings a new exhibition and live performance to London

Festival of Arts expands permanent collection with three new acquisitions

Hirshhorn announces "Carlotta Corpron: Light Is a Plastic Medium" surveying the career of abstract American photographer

Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 'Sueño Perro' exhibition marks 25 years of Amores Perros

Christie's announces an online sale of photographs

Tate Modern stages 'Theatre Picasso,' a new exhibition exploring performance and persona

Mauritshuis unveils 'The Grand Tour' exhibition, bringing UK masterpieces to the Netherlands for the first time

A comprehensive exhibition of Ashley Hans Scheirl's work opens in Vienna

BMA opens Deconstructing Nature: Environmental Transformation in the Lucas Collection

CHAUSSEE 36 celebrates a decade of photography and social impact

Bruno Munari's groundbreaking light and space installations on view in Milan

Edith Dekyndt now represented by Marian Goodman Gallery

Taipei Biennial 2025 unveils highlights and opening program

Ayyam Gallery presents Elias Izoli's 'Inside Out '25,' a circus of life and survival

New Waddington Custot exhibition explores the art of Barry Flanagan

Helen Marten's 30 Blizzards to be presented at Palais d'Iéna

Bettina Pousttchi sculpture installed at Istanbul Modern

Sam Hamilton/Sam Tam Ham creates immersive installation for USF Contemporary Art Museum

NYU's Grey Art Museum celebrates June Leaf's decades-long career in new retrospective

Carbon 12 opens group exhibition The Narrative of Decline

Historic timepieces from the Principality of Monaco: Patek Philippe and Cartier in the spotlight

GRAM presents large-scale exterior installations by Michigan artists for ArtPrize 2025




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 




Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)


Editor: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful