Caro and Music

A curated selection of works by Anthony Caro (1924-2013), the exhibition highlights the importance of music as an influence throughout his distinguished sculptural career, and includes work dating from 1971 - 2010 as well as works from the Concerto Series of the late 1990s and early 2000s. In making the abstract physical material of his work expressive, Anthony Caro embraced an element that was vital both to his personal and creative life, namely the inspirational presence of music. Both at home and in the studio, for Caro, music was ever-present. According to Patrick Cunningham, Caro's assistant from 1970 until the sculptor's death in 2013, "he needed to have music." Caro not only liked to listen to music while contemplating the progress of his sculptures, but, it seems, drew encouragement or perhaps strength from it. Paul Moorhouse says: "Caro changed the way we think about sculpture. Drawing inspiration from music, he developed a distinctive abstract language that expresses feeling directly, communicating a range of complex emotions. This exhibition explores an important but overlooked aspect of his achievements."