Richard Deacon has consistently described himself as a “fabricator,” emphasizing the construction behind the finished object. Although many of his works are cast, modeled, or carved by hand, his sculptures nonetheless reveal the process of their fabrication: sensuous curved forms are bound by glue that oozes, screws are revealed, and rivets protrude from sheets of steel. This transparency reveals an ongoing conversation between the artist and his materials. Deacon’s interest in “material diversity” has led him to produce experimental works in myriad materials including laminated wood, stainless steel, corrugated iron, polycarbonate, marble, clay, foam, vinyl, and leather. In the artist’s words, “Changing materials from one work to the next is a way of beginning again each time.”
For British sculptors of Deacon’s generation the overwhelming presence of Henry Moore and his heroic reputation was a force to be reckoned with. While he acknowledges Moore, along with sculptors Barbara Hepworth, Constantin Brancusi, and minimalist artists of the 1960s, Deacon deconstructs precedents, and builds his work in a manner that is both organic and clearly hand-built.
Nothing is Allowed, a unique stainless steel sculpture, reveals the artist’s fabrication process with its obviously bolted panels and exposed struts. An oversized industrial orifice, it is simultaneously buoyant and weighty, as if the steel were inflated with air.