Untitled 1981 photographed by David Ward (Chisenhale Gallery 29 July 1986)

Deacon is a London-based artist who’s expansive practice comprises elegant and complex structures, sometimes set alongside accomplished drawings.

This piece is from Chisenhale Gallery’s ‘The Archive Editions’, celebrating artists and collaborators who have participated in Chisenhale Gallery’s ground breaking 39-year programme. 

For 2021’s Archive edition, Deacon presents his sculpture Untitled 1981, as photographed at then-newly refurbished Chisenhale Gallery over three days in July 1986. The resulting gallery photographs generated the visuals for a publication accompanying his touring exhibition Richard Deacon: Sculpture 1980-1986 for which the artist was awarded the 1987 Turner Prize. 

This hand-printed black and white photograph invites the viewer to follow Deacon’s singular curvilinearity, bearing witness to a moment in Chisenhale’s history.