LONDON.- Canary Wharf Group unveils the latest addition to its impressive visual art programme with the opening of Edward Allington’s ‘We Are Time: Past and Future Works’ exhibition. Until 14 September, Allington’s superb sculptures bring wit, irony, human endeavour and an unusual take on classical culture into the lobby of the landmark One Canada Square.

Allington’s work has roots in classical themes and imagery – a very timely theme on the eve of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He examines the effects of time on works of art and how we perceive them - how objects appear differently in the world at different periods of time. For example, 2000 years ago a warrior’s helmet from ancient Greece would have been on the battlefield whereas today it is a revered museum artefact. Allington has taken reproductions of such relics and transformed them into sculptures, sometimes combining them with modern objects. His resulting works often present curious juxtapositions, imbued with his sense of the absurd.

This is a rare opportunity to see Allington’s works, particularly his classically themed sculptures, many of which have not been shown for twenty years or more.

A series of new photographs by Heini Schneebeli of five of Allington’s small bronze sculptures taken among the collections and exhibits of The Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, UCL Art Museum and the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, all at University College London, add another dimension to the display.

Edward Allington was born in Troutbeck Bridge, Westmoreland in 1951. He studied at Lancaster College of Art (1968-71); Central School of Art and Design, London (1971-74); and Royal College of Art, London (1983-84) studying Cultural History. His first solo exhibition Edward Allington Ceramics was held at 1B Kensington Church Walk in 1977, since when he has exhibited widely in Britain and abroad. In 1989 he was prizewinner of the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition held at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. Allington’s Fellowships include Gregory Fellow in Sculpture, University of Leeds 1991-93; Research Fellow in Sculpture, Manchester Metropolitan University 1993-96 and Sargant Fellow, the British School at Rome 1997. His work is in numerous private and public collections in Britain, Eire, Korea, Japan and the United States. Allington lives in London and is currently Professor, Head of Graduate Sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London.