From traditional incised lettering on memorials, to the use of letterforms and typography as works of art in their own right, this is a genre of sculpture with a message. In this Curation you’ll find interesting and varied examples where words, typography and letterforms have been used to create a unique form of sculpture.
The Garden of Floating Words 2017
Elisa Artesero
Clear acrylic & neon glass
H 200 x W 50 x D 50 cm
City of London Corporation
All Schools Should Be Art Schools
The Priority of Speech 2010–2016
Bethan Huws (b.1961)
Aluminium, glass, rubber & plastic letters
H 100 x W 75 cm
Government Art Collection
Jennifer Grant
War Memorial 2007
Charles Gurrey (b.1953)
Caithness stone
H 260 x W 89 x D 10 cm
Bletchley Park Trust
Shilpa Gupta (b.1976)
High-visibility tape
H 118.1 x W 118.1 cm
Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives
Arcadia 2007
Leo Fitzmaurice (b.1963)
Reflective vinyl, paint, aluminium & steel
H 220 x W 160 x D 10 cm
City of London Corporation
Orbis et umbra 2015
Martin Reilly (b.1958) and Hazel Buchan Cameron
Stone, metal & gold leaf
H 50 x W 40 x D 40 cm
Corbenic Poetry Path
War Memorial 1919
Eric Gill (1882–1940) and Herbert Joseph Cribb (1892–1967)
Stone
H 26 x W 53 x D 53 cm
George Ralston Wyllie (1921–2012)
Concrete & aluminium
The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum
Constantly to Light 2015
Peter Coates (b.1963)
Branshaw sandstone, Pentalikon marble & palladium gilding
H 85 x W 36 x D 16 cm
The Laurence Sterne Trust
No and No and No c.1972
Bernard Schottlander (1924–1999)
Painted steel
H 109 x W 63 x D 46 cm
Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre
I Love Real Life 2007
Ross Sinclair (b.1966)
Neon & perspex
H 26 x W 122 x D 8.5 cm
The Pier Arts Centre
At Night This Water Turns Black 2014
Laure Prouvost (b.1978)
Oil, collage, varnish on board & glass of water
H 26.5 x W 21 cm
Government Art Collection
Chthonic Box 1974
Joe Tilson (1928–2023)
Wood & mixed media
H 96.5 x W 106.5 x D 9.5 cm
Government Art Collection
Work No. 253: THINGS 2000
Martin Creed (b.1968)
Yellow neon
H 14.5 x W 75 cm
Government Art Collection
'We are the music makers…' 2006
Angela Godfrey (b.1939)
Lime
H 133 x W 29.5 x D 8 cm
Harlow Art Trust
The Beloved Disciple Stone Panel* 17th C
unknown artist
Alabaster
H 26 x W 22 x D 8 cm
English Heritage, Helmsley Archaeological Store
Jaime Gili (b.1972)
Customised car plates
H 52 x W 11 x D 5 cm
Essex Collection of Art from Latin America
Happy Hour in the Harmful Factory 2019
Annabel McCourt (b.1975)
Mixed media & neon
Scarborough Museums and Galleries
Field Holler 2015
Martin Reilly (b.1958) and Jim Carruth (b.1963)
Stone
H 167 x W 63 x D 17 cm
Corbenic Poetry Path
Memorial to Francis Crick (1916–2004) 2013
Roger Carpenter and Brown and Ralph and Lida Lopes Cardozo Kindersley (b.1954)
Stone
H 5 x W 240 x D 640 cm
Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge
One Cannot Collect All the Beautiful Shells on the Beach 2002
Lida Lopes Cardozo Kindersley (b.1954)
Stone
H 21.2 x W 104 x D 104.5 cm
Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Decorative Masks and Associated Carving 1905–1907
H. H. Martyn & Co. (active 1888–1971)
Doulton Carrara terracotta
What's the Point of Robbery When Nothing is Worth Taking? 2009
Jonathan Boyle (b.1971)
Perspex, vinyl & aluminium
H 40 x W 150 x D 16.8 cm
Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives
Peter Saville (b.1955) and Anna Blessmann (b.1969)
Etched & colour infilled satin clear acrylic plastic
H 10.3 x W 15.1 x D 5.2 cm
Government Art Collection
Afterlight 2017
Martin Reilly (b.1958) and Gavin Clark (1969–2015)
Honister slate
H 60 x W 30.8 x D 8.2 cm
Corbenic Poetry Path
Alec Peever (b.1954)
Limestone (?)
H 121 x W 42.5 x D 43 cm
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Woodkirk Stone Monolith 2008–2009
Teucer Wilson (b.1968)
Stone
H 173 x W 72 x D 44 cm
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
Suncycle 1968
Kenelm Cox (1927–1968)
Brass & motor
H 46 x W 5 x D 1 cm
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre
Hope 2017
Geza Sallai (b.1967)
Cast bronze & stainless steel
H 147 x W 84 x D 10 cm
Corbenic Poetry Path
Peace 2017
Margaret Preston (b.1958)
Acrylic, metal, wood, LEDs, spent rifle cartridges & blackboard paint
H 212 x W 49.4 x D 51 cm
Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture
Explore artists in this Curation
View all 44-
Jaime Gili (b.1972) -
Kenelm Cox (1927–1968) -
Anna Blessmann (b.1969) -
Lida Lopes Cardozo Kindersley (b.1954) -
Martin Creed (b.1968) -
Eric Gill (1882–1940) -
Jonathan Boyle (b.1971) -
Annabel McCourt (b.1975) -
Hazel Buchan Cameron -
unknown artist - View all 44