Antony Gormley: Horizon Field

Do not miss British artist Antony Gormley's unique landscape installation in the mountains of Vorarlberg. Presented in co-operation with the Kunsthaus Bregenz, this exciting project will be displayed until April 2012 and is a definite highlight of any trip to the alps.

"Who are we, what are we, where do we come from and to where are we headed? Those are the basic questions which the project "Horizon Fields" asks us. The whole point of this work is to make a connection between that which is palpable, perceivable and imaginable. It's a field of relations between mind and body, in which some of the bodies are surrogates and some are real." (Antony Gormley)

Horizon Field is the first art project of its kind erected in the mountains, and the largest landscape intervention in Austria to date. It consists of 100 life-size, solid cast iron figures of the human body spread over an area of 150 square kilometres. The work forms a horizontal line at 2,039 metres above sea level. This height has no specific metaphorical or thematic relevance in the placement of the statues. It is an altitude that is readily accessible but at the same time lies beyond the realm of everyday life.

The individual sculptures are mounted at intervals ranging from sixty metres to several kilometres, depending on the topography, looking in every direction but never facing each other. Some of the figures are installed in locations only reached by foot or on skis in winter. Others are unapproachable, visible only from certain vantage points. The works are neither representations (statues) nor symbols, but represent places where a human being once was, or where any human being could be.

Horizon Field engages the physical, perceptual and imaginative responses of anyone coming within its relational field. Over the two years during which this installation will be on display, the work will be exposed to the elements, to different lighting conditions, and to the changing seasons, thus enabling constantly new perceptions and impressions.

According to the artist, Horizon Field asks: "Where does the human project fit within the evolution of life on this planet? The works form a field in which living bodies and active minds are involved in measuring the space and distance between these static iron bodies, and of course both skiers and hikers will naturally be part of this. This installation recognises the deep connection between social and geological territory; between landscape and memory."

For more information, please contact www.kunsthaus-bregenz.at