Catalogue Raisonné. See What Beauty He Hath Wrought, CR618
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.
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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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See What Beauty He Hath Wrought
CR 618
Scotland
2005
Oil on canvas
32 x 36 inches
Citations and Comments
Prime Minister Tony Blair has adopted a pose implying intelligence, sensitivity and a particularly deep concern, rather as an undertaker might. Over his right shoulder are some of the accoutrements of respectability and bourgeois security. The table lamp with its parchment shade and body made from an ugly vase casts a glow on the warm red walls of the room in which he sits; there is the hint of a green tablecloth beneath the lamp. The image is of stability and comfort. He wears a midnight blue suit, and as usual his tie is too long. In contrast, over his left shoulder the city of Baghdad can be seen under heavy aerial bombardment. Surreal pink clouds and lights are formed by the high tech explosives and their aftermath. The scene is one of strange beauty in which people are suffering and dying in an entirely random manner.
, 'Artist's Notes on War Paintings', unpublished manuscript, 2004- Gerald Laing: Iraq War Paintings, Spike Gallery, New York, 2005
- Gerald Laing: Iraq War Paintings, Globe Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2007
- See What Beauty He Hath Wrought