MICHAEL AYRTON (1921 - 1975) - Figure in balance V, bronze, signed, brown patina, height 83cm. Notes: This figure forms part of a series of Ayrton's 'Figures in Balance' bronze sculptures and drawings which he executed between 1954 and 1958. The figures draw on Ayrton's interest in the logistics of the human structure. This example is numbered V in the series and is balanced on a steel rod, it displays the momentary equilibrium of the figure in the midst of tension and movement. Ayrton said of these works that 'They represent an oblique comment on the human condition - or at least upon my own. They are also ironic, since I myself am an arthritic and can neither bend my permanently rigid back nor, for the most of the time, move easily. I can achieve no athletic movement.' (C.P. Snow, Michael Ayrton, Drawings and Sculpture, Cory, Adams & Mackay Ltd., London, 1966) Literature: C.P.Snow, Michael Ayrton, Drawings and Sculpture, Cory Adams & Mcakay Ltd., London 1966 An illustrated Commentary by Peter Cannon-Brookes, Michael Ayrton, City Museums and Art Gallery Birmingham, B H Blackwell (Printing) Ltd., Oxford, p. 63 -64 Exhibition catalogue, Michael Ayrton-Work of the 1950s, May - June 1974, Bruton Gallery, Somerset, illustrated. Artists resale right applies to this lot.

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