By taking simple ways of looking at sculpture, this book uncovers unexpected affinities between works of very different periods and types. From sundials to mirrors, from graves to way-markers, from fountains to contemporary art, a wide range of illustrated examples expands the definitions of sculpture and proposes that we understand this art as something more fundamental to the way we experience and construct our rites of passage. Penelope Curtis argues that there are some basic functions shared by many kinds of three-dimensional objects, be they more or less obviously sculptural. Even contemporary sculpture, with no apparent purpose, makes use of this deeply embedded vocabulary. Together, the qualities of vertical, horizontal, closed and open are consolidated in the ensemble, which places the viewer at its heart, on the threshold of sculpture and on the threshold of change. This book elides the usual notions of figurative and abstract to think instead about how sculpture works. Published in association with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

Exploring over 25 works by Alison Wilding - one of Britain's most noted sculptors - this publication draws on the artist's ambitious display at the Duveen Galleries, Tate Britain. Wilding is known for her inventive approach to both form and materials. Each of the five major works on display at the Tate brings together contrasting materials - from copper and alabaster to rubber and PVC - while testing the relationship between scale and weight. The exhibition also served to celebrate the Tate's acquisition of her 2004 work 'Vanish & Detail'. This volume contextualises those works within Wilding's oeuvre. Alongside 70 illustrations and an interview between the artist and curator Carmen Julia, a survey text by Anna Moszynska groups the works in relation to the sculptures made by Wilding throughout the nearly four decades of her career.

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) was a radical sculptor whose unorthodox approach to sculpture-making provided a definitive break in the history of Western sculpture. Although much of his commercial success was based on the bronze and marble versions of his work, Rodin's greatest talent was as a modeller who captured movement, emotion, light and volume in clay and plaster, to challenge traditional conceptions of beauty and perfection. In line with new thinking on Rodin, this book explores the artist's use of plaster, a material which demonstrates his interest in creating sculptures that are never completed, always becoming. United by their materiality, fragile and experimental pieces are explored alongside new readings of some of Rodin's iconic works, and a selection of his watercolour drawings. Including an exclusive contribution from sculptor Phyllida Barlow, The Making of Rodin sheds light on the artist's use of materials, his unique way of working, and his imaginative use of photography, revealing how Rodin reinvented sculpture for the modern age - and why his work continues to enthral and provoke to this day.