Richard Long CBE, Sahara Circle 1988. Tate. © Richard Long.
Through the simple creative act of moving through the landscape, Richard Long extends the possibilities of sculpture to explore ideas of place, time and distance
Richard Long has been making art by walking since the late 1960s. His walks, and the sculptures made along the way – water poured on a rock, a path trodden in the earth, the rearrangement of scattered stones and sticks – are recorded through photographs, maps and text works.
Long made his first solo exhibition in 1968 at the age of 23 in Düsseldorf, Germany. It introduced him to an international audience, giving him early recognition alongside other influential artists of his generation. He then travelled to Italy, where he met members of the experimental Arte Povera group. Literally translating as ‘poor art’, the group were known for making art using humble materials that were easy to access. Long found an affinity with their simple and laid-back approach.
His indoor sculptures develop these same ideas, made from natural materials like stones or tidal mud applied with his hands or feet. As the artist says, ’I am interested in universals: stones, water, mud, hands, days, symmetry, gravity.’ Long has made work on all seven continents, walking in some of the remotest landscapes on earth. Rooted in his deep affinity with nature, his radical approach to art and the language of sculpture has made him a vital influence on a generation of artists.
‘My work really is just about being a human living on this planet and using nature as its source … I enjoy the simple pleasures of wellbeing, independence, opportunism, freedom, dreaming, happenstance; of passing through the land and sometimes stopping to leave (memorable) traces along the way.’ – Richard Long