Anthony Caro

Caro found modernism when working as an assistant to Henry Moore in the 1950s. After being introduced to the American sculptor David Smith in the early 1960s, he abandoned his earlier figurative work and started constructing sculptures by welding or bolting together collections of prefabricated metal, such as I-beams, steal plates and meshes. Often the finished piece is then painted in a bold flat colour.

Caro found international success in the late1950s and for a time was popular in the US. He was also influential as a tutor at St Martins School of Art, now Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London inspiring a younger generation of abstract British Sculptors led by his one time assistant Philip King as well as reaction group including Bruce McLean, Richard Long and Gilbert and George.

Caro is often credited with the significant innovation of removing the sculpture from its plinth, although Smith and Brancusi had both previously taken steps in the same direction. Caro's sculptures are usually self supporting and sit directly on the floor. In doing so they remove a barrier between the work and the viewer, who is invited to approach and interact with the sculpture from all sides.

In the 1980s Caro's work changed direction by introducing more literal elements with a series of figures drawn from classical Greece. Laterly he has also attempted large scale installation pieces. To mark his 80th birthday a retrospective exhibition was organised by the Tate Gallery in 2005.

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