LONDON.- Sculpture in the City, the City of London’s annual public art programme set amongst iconic architectural landmarks has announced the 16 art works that make up this year’s outdoor sculpture park in the Square Mile. The initiative, which is a collaboration between the City of London Corporation and City businesses, launches on 27th June. The outdoor exhibition includes works from internationally renowned artists including Paul McCarthy, Ryan Gander and Martin Creed. Their work is being displayed amongst some of Britain’s most famous buildings, including The Leadenhall Building, also known as the ‘Cheesegrater’, and for the first time, the Lloyd’s building by Richard Rogers.

For Sculpture in the City’s seventh edition, the art works are spread further than ever across the Square Mile, including installations at six new locations, and range greatly in form and scale. This year the scheme expands its locations, with works like Daniel Buren’ s 4 Colours at 3 metres high situated work (2011), located to the eastern City in front of the newly completed One Creechurch Place, allowing visitors a meditative moment and sensorial escape from the City.

This year, there are two new works exhibited for the first time, Peter Randall-Page’s Envelope of Pulsation (For Leo) (2017) and Fernando Casasempere’s Reminiscence (2017). A six metre high sculpture of a human anatomical model, Temple (2008) by Damien Hirst takes up residence in Cullum Street, and Kevin Killen’s Tipping Point (2016), a series of neon light arrangements, map out an urban landscape at The Leadenhall Building.

Accompanying these works is Mark Wallinger’s life-sized sculpture, The Black Horse (2015), which greets visitors at the corner of Bishopsgate and Wormwood Street, near to Martin Creed’s Work No.2814 (2017). These works lead to Paul McCarthy’s Apple Tree Boy Apple Tree Girl (2010), one of the latest works from McCarthy’s Hummel series, executed on a monumental scale. Another work outside Hiscox offices at 1 Great St Helen’s is Ryan Gander’s Never has there been such urgency, or The Eloquent and the Gaga – (Alchemy Box # 45) (2014), an air-dropped parcel suspended from a tree by its parachute.

On the other side of Leadenhall Street, visitors are able to see Gary Webb’s Dreamy Bathroom (2014), that adds an element of whimsical abstraction at 51 Lime Street, The Willis Towers Watson, alongside Mhairi Vari’s Support for a Cloud (2016), a sculpture in multiple sections, some of which have been installed on the Lloyds Building, with a third on a lamppost on Lime Street.

Participating artists for Sculpture in the City 2017 include Daniel Buren, Fernando Casasempere, Martin Creed, Ryan Gander, Damien Hirst, Kevin Killen, Paul McCarthy, Nathaniel Rackowe, Peter Randall-Page RA, Recycle Group, Bosco Sodi, Karen Tang, Gavin Turk, Mhairi Vari, Mark Wallinger and Gary Webb.

Sculpture in the City has built a rapport with many who live, work and visit the City of London. Over the past seven years, the annual public art programme has gained attention for bringing both established international artists and rising stars to a broad public. With works juxtaposed against the tall buildings in the Square Mile, this open-air exhibition not only enriches the workday experience of City workers, but draws cultural visitors into this most ancient part of the city.

As part of its education outreach programme, Sculpture in the City will offer exciting opportunities for young people to engage with the City of London through its education programme delivered by Open City. Working with artists, architects and partner company volunteers, 220 students from nine local schools will complete a total of 36 workshops this summer that explore these public spaces and neighbouring buildings (before and after the sculptures are installed), and creatively respond to the public spaces, architecture and sculpture.