Much like couples, solitary figures were also a continuous theme explored by Chadwick throughout his artistic career. The figures trianglar, expressionless face was a theme apoted by Chadwick in the Seventies which saw the artist adopted the triangle and the square head as a shorthand device for the symbolisation of the male and female. When once questioned about the reasons for the blanked faces in his figures, Chadwick replied: ‘No expression is an expression...body language has more power in conveying mood and character than facial features which can be limiting.’ Lynn Chadwick came to sculpture through unconventional means initially working as an architectural draughtsman. He began his sculptural career making mobile constructions for building trade fairs and it was the resulting success of these early mobiles and stabiles two of which were shown on the South Bank during the Festival of Britain in 1951, that first allowed him to seriously consider becoming a freelance sculptor. Chadwick’s unique approach was based on construction rather than modelling. First, he welded a linear armature or skeleton onto which he applied a skin, building up the surface to a solid form. By beginning with an abstract form or ‘space frame’ and investing it with an allusive vitality Chadwick’s working process is the reverse of most traditional approach- es. The results are equally as original and each work has a carefully considered ‘attitude’ communicated through stance, texture and finish. Chadwick first came to international prominence in 1952 when he was included in the British Council’s ‘New Aspects of British Sculpture’ exhibition for the XXVI Venice Biennale alongside Kenneth Armitage, Reg Butler, Bernard Meadows, Geoffrey Clarke, Robert Adam, William Turnbull and Eduardo Paolozzi. The following year he was one
of the twelve semi-finalists for the Unknown Political Prisoner International Sculpture Competition and went on to win the International Prize for sculpture at the 1956 Venice Biennale, beating Giacometti. Many honours and awards followed this period and his work was widely collected both privately and by major institutions globally. In 1964, he was awarded a CBE and in 2001 was elected a Royal Academician. A major retrospective of his work was held at Tate Britain, London in 2003.