York Historic Environment Record

Austin Wright was among the most talented sculptors working in the later C20. The work ‘Untitled’ was installed in 1967 at the new University of York, being placed at the centre of a concrete ramp that formed an integral part of the main walkway around the campus; a key element of the design concept for the university by the architects Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall and Partners (RMJM). Wright had begun to produce large-scale works in aluminium in the 1960s and achieved considerable skill in using the material, mastering the technique of argon arc welding where two pieces can be joined together at an absolute minimal point when reaching temperatures in excess of 6000 degrees centigrade. The method allowed him to achieve a combination of height and delicacy of form. This was also a period when he took an interest in dead and decaying objects such as tree roots, animal skins and withered rhubarb leaves. Untitled represents the maturity of Wright’s work in aluminium, as well as the interests that influenced his sculpture over that period; the piece being inspired by a decaying apple core and a splitting rock on a Devon beach. It is a sculpture of high aesthetic quality and workmanship, inspired by the artist’s experience of the natural world.