Conrad Shawcross: Inverted Spires and Descendent Folds
Past exhibition
Introduction
An exhibition of new sculptures in steel and cast bronze. Considered "maquettes" - some for realised commissions, and others propositions for works on a monumental scale - this body of work focusses on two lines of enquiry: Shawcross's ongoing explorations of the four-sided tetrahedron as a tessellating form in his Paradigm series, and the dynamic visual potential of harmonics in his Manifold works. Installed as a singular sculptural field, the works bear relationships to both architecture and the body, and elicit a subtle line between structure and nature, the metaphysical and the molecular.
Related
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New publication – Conrad Shawcross: Cascading Principles
June 23 2025Cascading Principles: Expansions Within Geometry, Philosophy, and Interference has been published to accompany Conrad Shawcross’ largest UK survey exhibition to date, held at the Mathematical...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross: The Primary Conditions remains on view for the Glyndebourne Festival 2025
May 21 2025On view until October 2025. Glyndebourne visitors returning from last year will be able to observe the changing features of the work. Produced in weathering...Read More
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On view at Fondation Carmignac – Vertigo, featuring Conrad Shawcross
April 26 2025On view until 2 November 2025, the exhibition features Slow Arc Inside a Cube XI (pictured). The exhibition refers to the blurred perception of a...Read More -
MICAS opens to the public, featuring works across the site by Conrad Shawcross
October 29 2024Works on view include The Dappled Light of the Sun , located outside the entrance to the museum, and three Beacons on the historical battlements....Read More
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Extended until June 2025 – Conrad Shawcross: Cascading Principles: Expansions within Geometry, Philosophy, and Interference at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford
July 30 2024This exhibition brings together more than 35 sculptures realised by the artist over the last 17 years. These pieces, placed across three floors, will co-exist...Read More -
The Library of Absence, a new conceptual book by Conrad Shawcross
March 11 2024Made in collaboration with chess champion Vladimir Kramnik and Éditions Take 5, t he book opens into an ever-changing landscape of light patterns, a proliferation...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross: What is to become is already here on view as part of MICAS International Art Weekend
October 27 2023On view 27-29 October 2023, Malta International Contemporary Art Space previews its 2024 opening with an inaugural display of three monumental sculptures by Conrad Shawcross...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross creates an immersive installation for the Royal Salute space at Frieze London
October 10 2023A specially conceived, immersive installation by Conrad Shawcross will be on view in the Royal Salute space at Frieze London, celebrating the launch of Royal...Read More
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Talk: Patterns in Science and Art – Liliane Lijn, Marcus du Sautoy and Fatos Ustek with Conrad Shawcross
September 21 2023'The search for and creation of patterns is intrinsic to both science and art. But so is the desire to understand how and why those...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross: Manifold (Major Third) 5:4 is officially unveiled
September 18 2023Manifold (Major Third) 5:4 , 2023, is a bronze sculpture positioned outside the Moorgate entrance of the Liverpool Street Elizabeth line station. Taking inspiration from...Read More
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Talk: Envisioning Imagination – Roger Penrose, Carlo Rovelli and Conrad Shawcross with Fatos Ustek
July 24 2023This event takes place at 5pm on Thursday 27 July 2023 (now fully booked). Imagination is the creative force for artists. But what about mathematicians...Read More -
As reported by The Guardian, Conrad Shawcross is featured in the Royal Academy of Arts auction to benefit The National Academy of Arts of Ukraine
January 26 2023The event, initiated and organised by The Natalia Cola Foundation and the Royal Academy of Arts, London, takes place at the RA on 28 January...Read More
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Now on view in Ramsgate until September 2023 – Conrad Shawcross: Beacons
January 19 2023On view until 30 September 2023 Commissioned by local children in Ramsgate, Beacons is officially launched. Believed to be the largest scale artwork to have...Read More -
On view at the Southbank Centre until 31 January 2023: Winter Light, featuring Conrad Shawcross
November 15 2022Dark Heart is on display on the roof of the Hayward Gallery as part of the Southbank's Winter Light exhibition. A meditative work, Dark Heart...Read More
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Enwrought Light by Conrad Shawcross is unveiled in Bedford Park
September 6 2022Shawcross's 4.5 metre Fracture sculpture, titled Enwrought Light in homage to the poet WB Yeats, was unveiled on 6 September in the grounds of St...Read More -
The Observer reports on Enwrought Light by Conrad Shawcross, just unveiled in Bedford Park as a tribute to WB Yeats
September 4 2022’The sculpture, to be unveiled on Tuesday by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is the work of the British sculptor Conrad Shawcross, and...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross features in To the Edge of Time at Universiteitsbibliotheek Leuven
October 19 2021The exhibition (22 October 2021–16 January 2022) showcases the kinetic light sculpture Slow Arc Inside a Cube XI, and ties into the artist’s fascination with...Read More -
Carlo Rovelli in conversation with Conrad Shawcross
March 26 2021The Royal Institution hosts this online event (Tuesday 6 April, 7–8.30pm) featuring Carlo Rovelli in conversation with artist Conrad Shawcross to explore the idea of...Read More
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Escalations, an exhibition by Conrad Shawcross at Château La Coste, is extended until 6 September 2020
July 26 2020Opening on Saturday 29 February, Château La Coste presents an expansive exhibition of works by Conrad Shawcross. The exhibition (extended until 6 September 2020) explores...Read More -
Work by Conrad Shawcross goes on view at Salisbury Cathedral – take a virtual tour of the exhibition and read a digital copy of the catalogue
May 2 2020In celebration of the 800th anniversary of the laying of its foundation stones, Salisbury Cathedral presents the exhibition Celebrating 800 years of Spirit and Endeavour...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross is the 2020 patron of Art UK
April 6 2020The online home for every public art collection in the UK, Art UK collaborates with over 3,200 British institutions opening up the UK's art collections...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross features in Under the Stars at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
March 1 2020The exhibition (21 March–20 September 2020) presents examples of stargazing and mapping by Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, highlighting the commonalities and connections in our shared...Read More
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Victoria Miro presents works by Conrad Shawcross at The Armory Show
February 25 2020 Read More -
Designboom writes about Bicameral, a new public sculpture for London by Conrad Shawcross
November 16 2019Bicameral has been unveiled at Chelsea Barracks – a major real estate development in central london. The piece is the first artwork to be installed...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross: Bicameral is unveiled at Chelsea Barracks
November 7 2019Bicameral , a major new public sculpture by the celebrated British sculptor Conrad Shawcross RA, has just been unveiled at Chelsea Barracks. Made of anodised...Read More -
Now open – the Comcast Technology Center, featuring a site-specific work by Conrad Shawcross
October 19 2019Opening to the public on 18 October 2018, the new Comcast Technology Center building, designed by Foster + Partners, in Philadelphia, features a major site-specific...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross to create a major new work for Ramsgate Royal Harbour in 2020
October 16 2019In connection with Turner Contemporary, Shawcross has been commissioned by local primary school children to make a new work for the Kent town. This will...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross features in the Science Museum exhibition The Art of Innovation: From Enlightenment to Dark Matter
September 17 2019The exhibition (25 September 2019–26 January 2020) explores the relationship between science and art over the past 250 years, and how it has helped to...Read More
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When science meets art: Marcus du Sautoy and Conrad Shawcross
September 17 2019In this talk (Royal Academy of Arts, 25 September 2019), Mathematician Professor Marcus du Sautoy and Royal Academician Conrad Shawcross will explore how themes of...Read More -
Sweet Harmony: Rave Today, featuring Conrad Shawcross
July 12 2019As part of this exhibition (12 July–14 September 2019) about the impact of acid house and rave culture, Shawcross presents Golden Lotus (Inverted) , a...Read More
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Sculptures by Conrad Shawcross are installed in the gardens of Wilton Crescent
July 5 2019Three sculptures — Formation II (The Dappled Light of the Sun) , 2015, Manifold 5:4 , 2016, and Paradigm B (Solid) , 2019 — by...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross’ Chord on view at The Jute Shed, Halifax
June 7 2019Shawcross exhibits Chord at the Jute Shed (22 June–21 July 2019), part of the vast and historic Dean Clough Mills in Halifax. This is the...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross’ Monolith (Optic) and Optic Labyrinth are featured in Pilane Sculpture Park 2019
May 16 2019Installed on a rocky outcrop in Pilane, Sweden (opening 18 May 2019), Monolith (Optic) appears to change endlessly according to shifting light conditions. Read an...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross features in Negative Space: Trajectories of Sculpture at ZKM, Karlsruhe
April 6 2019Slow Fold Inside a Corner, 2018, is on view as part of as part of Negative Space: Trajectories of Sculpture (6 April–11 August 20190. The...Read More
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HENI Talks – Maths, Alchemy, Art: The Sculptural Practice of Conrad Shawcross
January 4 2019In this HENI Talk, Conrad Shawcross discusses his work including his recent inspiration: moiré. This dazzling mathematical phenomenon, also known as an interference pattern, is...Read More -
Wallpaper* features Conrad Shawcross: Psychogeometries
December 12 2018Engineer, philosopher, roboticist: inside the fine-tuned mind of Conrad Shawcross. By Elly Parsons From halcyon days spent in the London Science Museum’s maths gallery, to...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross presents Exploding Paradigms and Parallax Disruptions as part of the Frick Collection’s Artists, Poets, and Writers Lecture Series
October 2 2018The free lecture (6–7pm, 17 October 2018) outlines the breadth of his practice, focusing specifically on recent works from his two series Paradigms and Optics...Read More -
Final week – Frieze Sculpture, featuring a new work by Conrad Shawcross
October 1 2018Selected by Clare Lilley, Director of Programme, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Frieze Sculpture (4 July–7 October 2018) features works by 25 contemporary and modern artists in...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross discusses his new exhibition with Wallpaper*
September 18 2018Science and art prove a potent combination in the hands of Conrad Shawcross. By Tom Seymour What do you know about a tetrahedron? For rarely...Read More -
The Guardian reviews Conrad Shawcross: After the Explosion, Before the Collapse
September 14 2018★★★★ By Jonathan Jones can’t remember the last time an artist explained a body of work to me by referring to Thomas Kuhn’s 1962 book...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross talks to the Evening Standard ahead of his new exhibition at Victoria Miro Mayfair
September 11 2018By Ben Luke Encountering an artist at the moment where their work is alone for the first time in a gallery is special. It seems...Read More -
Read our online publication for Conrad Shawcross: Optic Labyrinth (Arrangement I)
July 31 2018 Read More
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Conrad Shawcross: MATRIX 179 at Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
June 21 2018The exhibition (21 June–21 October 2018) celebrates the premiere of Shawcross’ sculpture Monolith (Optic), 2016, on Main Street in front of the Wadsworth Atheneum. The...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross to create a major new public artwork for the Elizabeth line at Liverpool Street
March 13 2018'Manifold' by British artist Conrad Shawcross will be a bronze sculpture positioned outside the Moorgate entrance of the Elizabeth line station. Taking inspiration from musical...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross’ The Optic Cloak wins a World Architecture News Award
March 2 2018The Greenwich Peninsula Low Carbon Energy Centre, by C.F. Møller Architects in collaboration with Conrad Shawcross, wins in the category of Metal in Architecture. Designed...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross at Harbour Arts Sculpture Park, Hong Kong
February 22 2018A four-metre-high Paradigm sculpture and a large-scale The Dappled Light of the Sun will be displayed as part of Harbour Arts Sculpture Park (22 February-11...Read More
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Final week to see Conrad Shawcross’ The Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue) at St Pancras International, London
December 11 2017Until 18 December 2017 The Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue) is Conrad Shawcross RA’s largest mechanical work to date, stretching out to a...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross in Now Wakes the Sea at The Glucksman, Cork
July 27 2017Titled after the 1963 short story by JG Ballard, the exhibition (4 August - 5 November 2017) considers a resurgence of interest in the sea...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross’ Monolith (Optic) at New Art Centre, Roche Court
July 7 2017Monolith (Optic), 2016, is currently on view in the Sculpture Park at Roche Court, near Salisbury, Wiltshire. A synthesis of engineering and optical research that...Read More -
Louisa Buck reports on Conrad Shawcross’s Terrace Wires commission in The Art Newspaper
June 23 2017The official take on Conrad Shawcross’s new sculpture, which now hangs from the roof of St Pancras International, is that the giant rotating work, The...Read More
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Disegno talks to Conrad Shawcross about The Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue) at St Pancras International
June 22 2017London, 22 June 2017 “I conceived the piece before the referendum last year,' notes the artist Conrad Shawcross. 'I can’t claim to have taken it...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross interviewed by GQ about his Terrace Wires commission
June 22 2017Conrad Shawcross on sculpture, timekeeping and real art. By Ailis Brennan The 2017 artist for the Terrace Wires commission at St Pancras International ventures into...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross talks to the Financial Times about his Terrace Wires Commission
June 22 2017Mechanical sculpture set in motion at St Pancras Artist Shawcross invites political interpretations of work placed near Eurostar terminal. By James Pickford A huge mechanical...Read More -
The 2017 Terrace Wires commission by Conrad Shawcross is unveiled at St Pancras International
June 22 2017Unveiled by the Royal Academy of Arts and St Pancras International the major site-specific installation, The Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue) , 2017,...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross talks to Wallpaper* about his forthcoming Terrace Wires commission for St Pancras International
June 15 2017Man of parts: Conrad Shawcross’ new ‘crazy machine’ spins into St Pancras International. By Nick Compton The British artist Conrad Shawcross has a thing about...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross discusses his work on the FT Everything Else Podcast
June 8 2017'Dystopian dreams and robotic sculpture', the latest FT culture podcast features an interview with Conrad Shawcross, who discusses his work, including In Light of The...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross’ new commission for the Barbican’s Into the Unknown: A Journey Through Science Fiction
June 3 2017Saturday 3 June – Friday 1 September 2017 Newly commissioned for this exhibition, Conrad Shawcross' In Light of The Machine proposes a relationship between cosmology...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross talks to It's Nice That about his installation for the Barbican's Into the Unknown: A Journey through Science Fiction
June 2 2017Conrad Shawcross explores the “riddle and mystery” of objects in new light work for the Barbican. By Rebecca Fulleylove Artist Conrad Shawcross’ sculptural works often...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross announced as the artist for the 2017 Terrace Wires commission
June 1 2017Royal Academician Conrad Shawcross has been selected as the next artist to be commissioned for Terrace Wires at St Pancras International, the station's public commissioning...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross in Socle du Monde Biennale 2017
April 15 2017Shawcross presents an iteration of 'The Ada Project' as part of the Danish biennial (21 April - 27 August 2017). Described by the artist as...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross and Jules de Balincourt in The Universe and Art at ArtScience Museum Singapore
April 15 2017The Universe and Art is an artistic voyage through the cosmos, exploring where we came from and where we are going. It weaves a rich...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross, Idris Khan and Grayson Perry create work for The Cure Parkinson's Trust
March 13 2017Cure3 is an exciting selling exhibition devised by Artwise in partnership with Bonhams and supported by the David Ross Foundation to raise awareness and funds...Read More
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Book now: Conrad Shawcross talk at the V&A
January 26 2017Friday 17 March 2017, 19.00 - 20.00 The Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre Imbued with an appearance of scientific rationality, Conrad Shawcross’s sculptures explore...Read More -
The Francis Crick Institute officially opens, featuring Paradigm by Conrad Shawcross
November 9 2016Commissioned by the Francis Crick Institute and funded by the Wellcome Trust, Paradigm, by artist Conrad Shawcross, is one of the tallest public sculptures in...Read More
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Conrad Shawcross interviewed in Wired
September 29 2016This artist is giving London a makeover. By Kevin Holmes. Inspired by camouflage and cubism, Conrad Shawcross is refashioning the Big Smoke's skyline. Artist Conrad...Read More -
Conrad Shawcross: Paradigm at the Francis Crick Institute
On permanent viewParadigm: a new public art commission 24 February 2016 Today, one of the largest sculptures in London was installed on the plaza outside the front...Read More
