© DACS, London 2009
A work by leading Scottish artist Martin Boyce has been acquired by the Henry Moore Institute on behalf of Leeds Art Gallery as part of the Gallery's permanent collection.
Phantom and Fall is a hanging mobile inspired by the work of American designers Ray and Charles Eames. The acquisition coincides with Boyce's inauguration on 7 June as the first artist to represent Scotland at the Venice Biennale with a solo show.
Ray Eames and her husband Charles are best known for the moulded plywood chair they designed together in 1945, which has since become a modern design classic. However, the two designers first made their name in World War Two when they were commissioned by the US navy to create moulded plywood splints and stretchers for wounded troops.
Boyce took inspiration from the Eames' war effort to create Phantom and Fall. The work comprises three re-worked fragments of Eames leg splints suspended from two horizontal metal strips.
Phantom and Fall is also inspired by the work of artist Alexander Calder who began creating distinctive, colourful mobiles in the 1930s. By paying homage to Calder in a piece inspired by wartime leg splints, Boyce sets up an uncomfortable dichotomy between playfulness and the ravages of war.
"We pursued this acquisition as a way of building up our contemporary holdings while responding to the past,” said Penelope Curtis, Curator, Henry Moore Institute. “Martin Boyce pursues this in all his work, more or less mysteriously."
The Art Fund gave a grant of £8,000 towards the acquisition. Other funding came from the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and Leeds City Council.
Phantom and Fall will be on view at Leeds Art Gallery later this year in a new display curated by Sophie Raikes focusing on contemporary sculptors' re-use of classic modernism.
