Chalk Cliff Study

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

As if hewn straight from a cliff face, a chunk of white chalky rocks is displayed on a wall. 'Chalk Cliff Study' is one of several wall-based sculptures produced by the Boyle Family, the artistic collective name for Mark Boyle, Joan Hills and their adult children, Sebastian and Georgia. Recreating segments of a landscape onto a wall is both a playful act and one of intent. By creating realistic versions of the natural world from resin, fibreglass and paint, the Boyle Family present an objective and ‘true to life’ slice of reality. Their practice is based on a belief that nature orders itself, without any need for the intervention or adaptation of art. The rocky chunk in 'Chalk Cliff Study' derives from a stone quarry in Kent. The Boyle Family randomly selects locations for every work: in the early years, they threw a dart at a map to determine a precise location, a process that has taken them all over the world.

The Boyle Family’s first explorations of wall-mounted sculptures based on natural features were shown in 1964 in their exhibition, Journey to the Surface of the Earth at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Four years later, they embarked on their World Series, a continuous series of works that includes various iterations of Chalk Cliff studies.

Boyle Family has exhibited their work all over the world. They represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1978 and the São Paulo Biennale in 1987. In 2003 the Boyle Family had a major exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Their work is represented in many public collections including Tate, London; Los Angeles County Museum; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum and Museum Modern Kunst, Vienna. Mark Boyle died in 2005 but the Boyle Family continues to work and exhibit and in 2015 they had work on show in Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Places

Kent, Sussex

Subjects

cliff

Materials & Techniques

mixed media (art material), glass fibre, resin, wall-mounted sculpture

Artist

Boyle Family

Title

Chalk Cliff Study

Date

2000-2008

Medium

Mixed media, resin and fibreglass wall-mounted sculpture

Dimensions

height: 56.00 cm, width: 51.00 cm, depth: 17.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from the artists, January 2011

Provenance

the artists

GAC number

18377