Borne out of his Paradigms, which are an ongoing exploration of the tetrahedron – a four-sided non-tessellating form and being the simplest of the platonic solids, conceptually the symbol of an indivisible unit of matter – Shawcross’ Fractures are ethereal forms that seem almost to disappear as they rise up and expand. Imbued with references to the manmade and natural worlds, each Fracture contains a central helical stem, a twisting spine that supports a series of branches which in turn support hundreds of triangular leaf-like fragments that dissipate in precise formation.

Discussing these works, the artist says, ‘These works at first appear almost like a scientific model, like an amino acid or a piece of DNA or a protein. Yet there is a sense of time to these works, a sense of entropy, of growth, of expansion, of things moving forward. And so there is a sort of paradox to the forms. At first they appear like some kind of model, an empirical model, and at the same time they have this sense of entropy, of change. The title of this show, The Measures of Change, is very much about these works in that they are a model of something which is in stasis, and yet they seem to contain a sense of change over time. They occupy these different contradictory states and remain undefinable, elusive and paradoxical.’

Conrad Shawcross, RA, was born in 1977 in London, where he currently lives and works. Recent major exhibitions and commissions include Escalations, a recent solo exhibition held at  Chateau La Coste, Provence, France, where the artist’s monumental new permanent commission Schism (Château La Coste) is on view; Pioneering Places, a major public art work for Ramsgate Royal Harbour, UK; and an exhibition to mark the 800th anniversary of Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire, UK. Shawcross will create a major new public artwork for the Crossrail Elizabeth line at Liverpool Street, London. Titled Manifold, the bronze sculpture will be positioned outside the Moorgate entrance of the new station when it opens in 2022.