SIR EDUARDO PAOLOZZI Vulcan — 1999

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi was born in Leith in 1924 and studied in Edinburgh, London and Paris. A number of major works by Paolozzi are sited across his home town of Edinburgh and his fascination with the industrial fusion of man and machine are expressed here in the sculptural collage of ‘Vulcan’ (1999). This seven-metre tall piece was originally commissioned for Central Square, Newcastle and has been exhibited across the UK before coming home to Edinburgh Park.

‘Vulcan’ is one of Paolozzi’s last major works, it explores the mythic story and takes its name from the Roman god of fire and metalworking. ‘Vulcan’ is said to have built a forge under Mount Etna in Sicily and when his wife, Venus, was unfaithful he used his hammer to beat metal with such force that sparks and smoke erupted from the volcano.

An earlier version of ‘Vulcan’ in welded steel is situated within National Galleries of Scotland’s Modern Two (formerly the Dean Gallery) along with a recreation of Paolozzi’s studio including his maquettes, papers, books and objects which inspired his work.

When Armitage exhibited alongside his contemporaries Reg Butler, Lynn Chadwick and Bernard Meadows at the Venice Biennale in 1952, the group were championed as the ‘New Bronze Age’ sculptors and their work signalled a new expressionist approach to sculpture. Royal Academician Kenneth Armitage’s monumental 30-foot piece ‘Reach for the Stars’ depicts both hand and star perfectly capturing his sense of immediacy and playfulness, “I like sculpture to look as if it happened, to express an idea as simply as possible.”