Vertical extension becomes a defining force in Bonds XVI, one of the tallest works in the series. Rising to 83 inches, the sculpture asserts itself as an upright presence that exceeds the viewer’s body, shifting the encounter from recognition to confrontation. The segmented construction elongates the figure into a narrow axis, emphasizing ascent and suspension rather than grounded stability.
Vertical extension becomes a defining force in Bonds XVI, one of the tallest works in the series. Rising to 83 inches, the sculpture asserts itself as an upright presence that exceeds the viewer’s body, shifting the encounter from recognition to confrontation. The segmented construction elongates the figure into a narrow axis, emphasizing ascent and suspension rather than grounded stability.
The lustered glaze activates the surface with shifting reflections, complicating the figure’s silhouette as light moves across it. This interplay aligns the work with modern ceramic practices in which surface becomes an active field, recalling postwar experiments where glaze functions as gesture rather than finish. The form oscillates between emblem and body, recalling postwar sculptural strategies associated with artists such as Eduardo Chillida and Antony Gormley, where the human figure is abstracted into structure and scale becomes a primary expressive force.
