Catalogue Raisonné. Clearances Sculpture Figure Group at 40 Inch Height, CR599
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.
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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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Clearances Sculpture Figure Group at 40 Inch Height
CR 599
Summer, 2002
Bronze
Total group 40 x 38 x 22 inches
plaster
Citations and Comments
A composition showing a family group consisting of man, wife, teenaged boy, and child in arms. The silhouette is clear and strong and expresses movement. The sculpture expresses the emotions which will affect people who have been obliged quite suddenly to move from their familiar surroundings and way of life into the unknown. Family members will react in different ways according to their position in the group. Thus the man, who is responsible for the economic well being and safety of the group, strides forward grimly determined to do whatever is necessary to achieve this, though so far he has no idea of what may be in store for him and his uprooted family.
The boy, on the other hand, is lighthearted. He relies on his father, but senses with almost joyful anticipation that there is adventure ahead. He does not think much about what has been left behind; his mind is on the future. The woman is wholeheartedly supportive of her husband and committed to the tasks which lie ahead, but she also feels most deeply the tearing loss of familiar hearth and home and the security it represented, especially since she has a baby in her arms. Involuntarily she glances back for one more glimpse of home, while striding forward with the others. The man is shown wearing the belted plaid, sporran, shirt and brogans. I am aware that it is unlikely that many, if any, cleared men would wear such items given the proscription and changes in fashion. However, to some extent the sculpture is concerned with the loss of a specific culture and way of life, a process which some people believe began at Culloden, and this dress which is so closely and uniquely associated with the Highlands is surely an acceptable symbol. The man is carrying items for their journey such as an axe, a cooking pot and a bedroll. The boy is wearing a philabeg, and there are in existence photographs of cleared families in which children appear dressed in this manner. The woman’s dress is also authentic. This is a very early stage in the creative process. At present the model for the sculpture is only 40” [102 cm] high.The themes here touched upon the necessarily be changed and developed as the work progresses through successive increases in scale until we reach the full-sized version which will tower above those who climb the mound.