Martin Boyce’s work has a dark, pensively poetic undertone that augurs the end of an era. And not just the end of the 20th-century avant-garde, whose dreams and triumphs still echo in our present, but also the end of our very own time. Where the spirit of “form follows function” can be said to blow through his sculptures, drawings, and photographs, quiescent allusions to nature, poetry, and film noir are like shadows lingering over them. A sense of transience and abandonment inhabits Boyce’s work, giving it a romantic touch.
Black Telephone (Dreaming)
2020
Patinated steel, etched and painted aluminum, painted silicone molded vacuum cast resin, coiled cable
221 x 166 x 11 cm / 87 x 65 3/8 x 4 3/8 in
© Martin Boyce
Yellow Telephone (Searching)
2020
Patinated steel, etched and painted aluminum, painted silicone molded vacuum cast resin, coiled cable
167.5 x 111.5 x 11 cm / 66 x 43 7/8 x 4 3/8 in
© Martin Boyce
Here Come the Waves
2020
Chair: Sapele and oak veneered MDF
Door: Tulipwood and birch ply, welded steel, brass
Chair 50.5 x 50 x 82 cm / 19 7/8 x 19 5/8 x 32 1/4 in
Door 237 x 124 x 10 cm / 93 1/4 x 48 7/8 x 3 7/8 in
© Martin Boyce
Not Remembering Or Forgetting
2019
Steel, patinated and waxed brass, etched and waxed brass, etching ink
30 x 30 x 30 cm / 11 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 11 3/4 in
© Martin Boyce
Treacherous in Calm and Still in Storm
2018
Painted perforated steel, aluminum, painted and stained steel, painted and stained steel chain
166.5 x 110.5 x 15 cm / 65 1/2 x 43 1/2 x 5 7/8 in
© Martin Boyce
A Granite Swan
2018
Jesmonite, steel, oiled wood
80.5 x 60.5 x 4 cm / 31 3/4 x 23 7/8 x 1 5/8 in
© Martin Boyce
While on the Roof (10)
2015
Jesmonite, galvanised steel and aluminum
Installation 290 x 135 x 100 cm / 114 1/8 x 53 1/8 x 39 3/8 in
© Martin Boyce
Dead Star (Metal Palms)
2015
Painted Steel, blackened steel, painted bronze, chain and cast bronze; 2 parts
Chandelier 54 x 40 x 40 cm / 21 1/4 x 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 in
Light switch 8.5 x 8.5 x 1.5 cm / 3 3/8 x 3 3/8 x 5/8 in
Installation dimensions variable
© Martin Boyce
The Lake
2014
Blackened steel, painted steel, chain, rusted chain, light components
Weight approx. 14 kg
248 x 107 x 110 cm / 97 5/8 x 42 1/8 x 43 1/4 in
© Martin Boyce
Through Us
2013
Weathered galvanised steel, Danish oil; pedestal plywood
Sculpture 77 x 40 x 30 cm / 30 3/8 x 15 3/4 x 11 3/4 in
Pedestal 72 x 42 x 34 cm / 28 3/8 x 16 1/2 x 13 3/8 in
© Martin Boyce
Of Leaves
2010
Jesmonite, steel
160 x 114 x 4 cm / 63 x 44 7/8 x 1 5/8 in
Unique
© Martin Boyce
When Now is Night (web)
1999
Installation; fluorescent light fittings and tubes, chains, hooksight
Installation dimensions variable
Edition of 3
Installation view, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island, 2015–2016
© Martin Boyce
