Catalogue Raisonné. Maquette for a Memorial to Jim Clark
The Major Periods
1962 – 1965: Early Pop Paintings
As one of the original wave of Pop artists Gerald Laing produced some of the most significant works of the British Pop movement. His paintings reproduced images of popular heroes such as starlets, film stars, drag racers, astronauts and skydivers. His 1962 portrait of Brigitte Bardot is an iconic work of the period and regularly features in major Pop retrospectives alongside Lincoln Convertible from 1964, a commemoration of the assassination of JFK.
1965 – 1970: Utopian Abstract Sculpture
From 1965 Gerald Laing's painting evolved into abstract sculptures using the techniques and materials of car customisation - lacquering, spray-painting and chrome-plating on metal.
View all Utopian Abstract Sculpture
1970 – 1973: Sculpture In The Landscape
A move from New York to the Highlands of Scotland in 1970 saw Gerald Laing's sculpture respond to the beauty, roughness and power of the surrounding landscape.
View all Sculpture In The Landscape
1972 – 2010: Public Sculpture
Public sculptures include the the Bank Station Dragons; the Rugby Sculptures at Twickenham Stadium; the Cricketer at Lords; the Highland Clearances Memorial in Helmsdale, Sutherland and Axis Mundi in Edinburgh.
1973 – 1980: Galina Series
Inspired by the figurative sculpture of the First World War Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner, in 1973 Gerald Laing began to model in clay and cast in bronze. The Galina Series and associated sculptures were his first works from this period.
1982 – 2007: Portrait Heads
Gerald Laing's portrait work includes heads and reliefs of Luciano Pavarotti, Andy Warhol, Paul Getty and Sam Wanamaker.
2002 – 2005: War Paintings
The Iraq war and the publication of images of torture at Abu Ghraib prison drew Gerald Laing back to painting for the first time in over three decades. The War Paintings series sees the starlets and all-American heroes of his early paintings take on new, more sinister roles.
2004 – 2011: New Paintings
Returning to the style and subject matter of his early pop art paintings, Gerald Laing's latest paintings feature media images of contemporary celebrities including Amy Winehouse and Kate Moss.
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Maquette for a Memorial to Jim Clark
Catalogue No. 575
Artist's CR 535
July, 1993
Kinkell
Bronze and painted wood
19 x 17 x17 inches / 48 x 43 x43 cm
Collection: Private collection
- Gerald Laing: A Retrospective 1963–1993, The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 1993
- Gerald Laing: Sculpture 1968–1999, The Fine Art Society, London, 1999
The sculpture is intended to be both inspirational and informative. It represents the triumph of fame over death; it also shows how and by what means that fame was achieved.
The sculpture consists of:
1. A sandstone pyramid on a moulded plinth, 16 ’ (5m) high;
2. In front of the pyramid is a 1.25 times life-size bronze figure of Jim Clark;
3. On either side of the pyramid are two full-sized bronze sculpture of Lotus cars. These will be two different models - perhaps the 1960 Type 18 or 1962 Type 28 on one side, and the 1965 Type 38 or the 1968 Type 49 on the other. The final selection of the car is open to discussion;
4. On either side of the base are 8’ (2.5m) long bas-reliefs depicting two different and crucial races. Again, their selection is open to discussion;
5. On the rear of the pyramid is a bronze plaque showing drawings of Colin Chapman’s major engineering innovations;
6. Below the figure of Jim Clark is a plaque describing his racing career;
7. Near the top of the pyramid on each side is a bronze laurel wreath.
'The Jim Clark Memorial Proposal: A Proposed Sculptural Monument to Jim Clark, 1936–1968', Gerald Laing, booklet, Inverness, 1993