Language of the Physical: Katherine Gili Sculpture at Pitzhanger Manor

Four decades of work from artist who was student of Anthony Caro

Katherine Gili, Aqui, 1981. Forged mild steel, varnished, waxed, 36x49x45cm. Picture: Orlando Gili

October 24, 2024

An exhibition of the work of a leading British sculptor is set to open at Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery

Language of the Physical: Katherine Gili Sculpture, launches on 8 November and is set to run until 9 March next year. This exhibition brings together a range of sculptures by Katherine Gili, spanning four decades from 1980 to 2022. Gili’s practice is rooted in a deeply physical engagement with materials—particularly steel, heavy-duty paper, and paper clay—and her work has steadily gained recognition in recent years. Most notably, her sculpture Vertical IV (1975) was recently displayed for the first time at Tate Britain as part of their ongoing collection display, Modern and Contemporary British Art (1965–1980), highlighting Gili’s significant contribution to British sculpture. Alongside the Tate, Gili’s sculptures are held in prominent collections, including Arts Council and Henry Moore Institute.

Katherine Gili has been making sculpture for over fifty years but has only recently received wider public visibility. She was a student of Anthony Caro, one of the leading figures of 20th-century sculpture and the subject of Pitzhanger’s summer exhibition last year. Her work marks a shift from the industrial aesthetic of steel sculpture to an increasingly sensual and subjective approach to abstract form.

This exhibition highlights Gili’s exploration of the expressive potential of materials through the physical act of making. Working with steel, bronze, and paper clay, Gili challenges the boundaries of form and construction. Her early paper-based works, sometimes cast into bronze, reflect her experimental approach, while her steel sculptures, shaped through cutting and forging, embody her fascination with the transformative nature of material. Her recent work has shifted towards a more personal engagement with the human body as a source of inspiration.

Clare Gough, Director of Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, said, "We are excited to host this exhibition at Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery and a timely reassessment of Katherine Gili’s work. Her experiments with different materials feel well rooted at Pitzhanger where Sir John Soane gave such thought to the materials he employed. This exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate Gili’s significant contribution to the field of modern British sculpture."

Katherine Gili said, “Sir John Soane was an avid collector of sculpture and had a keen eye for its space-enhancing possibilities and its counterpoint to his own extraordinary architectural creation. I am delighted to have been asked to show at Pitzhanger Manor, with its expansive and intimate spaces with differing qualities of light. It is a natural home for sculpture.”

Language of the Physical: Katherine Gili Sculpture runs concurrently alongside Pitzhanger’s other exhibitions: Grayson Perry: The Vanity of Small Differences; William Hogarth: The Satirist and Antoni Malinowski and Hélène Binet: Pigments and Photons.

Access to the exhibition is with general admission to Pitzhanger Manor.

There is unlimited free access for Members at all times and Ealing borough residents can get free entry on Sundays 10am–noon and First Thursdays 5–8pm.

Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery is open from Wednesday to Sunday 10am–5pm , including Bank Holidays (First Thursday of the Month: 10am–8pm).