Behind The Scenes

Richard Deacon's sculptures: how are they made?

Susan Holtham and Simon Grant1

'He wants to put things together in a certain way, and I go away and make a vocabulary for him to work with'. Matthew Perry, long-term collaborator of British sculptor Richard Deacon, reveals the methods he's devised over their thirty-year relationship to manipulate materials

Matthew Perry Richard Deacon studio 5 2013 — [click on image for slideshow]Richard Deacon's ash and steel Slippery When Wet 2004 under constructionPhoto: Martin Sherman and Christopher Perry

Matthew Perry Richard Deacon studio 8 2013 — Construction of Richard Deacon's Out of Order 2003, oak and stainless steelPhoto: Martin Sherman and Christopher Perry

Matthew Perry Richard Deacon studio 1 2013 — Photo: Martin Sherman and Christopher Perry

Matthew Perry Richard Deacon studio 9 2013 — Photo: Martin Sherman and Christopher Perry

Matthew Perry Richard Deacon studio 2 2013 — Works under construction inside Matthew Perry's studioPhoto: Martin Sherman and Christopher Perry

Matthew Perry Richard Deacon studio 5 2013 — Shaping wood encased in metal in Matthew Perry's studioPhoto: Martin Sherman and Christopher Perry

Matthew Perry Richard Deacon studio 4 2013 — Deacon's large-scale wooden sculpture Upper Strut 2011 under constructionPhoto: Martin Sherman and Christopher Perry

Matthew Perry Richard Deacon studio 3 2013 — A metal maquette for Richard Deacon's Restless 2005Photo: Martin Sherman and Christopher Perry

Matthew Perry Richard Deacon studio 7 2013 — Wood encased in metal being shapedPhoto: Martin Sherman and Christopher Perry

Matthew Perry Richard Deacon studio 10 2013 — Wood being shaped following steaming in Matthew Perry's studioPhoto: Martin Sherman and Christopher Perry

Matthew Perry Richard Deacon studio 11 2013 — Wood being twisted as part of the construction of Slippery When Wet 2004Photo: Martin Sherman and Christopher Perry

See also

How I learned to see

Simon Grant1

The leading British sculptor Richard Deacon (born 1949), who first gained international prominence in the early 1980s, is the subject of an important retrospective at Tate Britain. His work in many media – steel, foam, rubber, chrome, leather, marble, as well as drawings – shows a lifelong interest in the potential of his materials to reflect his fascination for communication through form. Here, he talks about his influences – from toys and mathematics to caves, carved Buddhas and Donald Judd
Richard Deacon

In February 2014, Tate Britain presents a major retrospective of the work of Turner Prize winner Richard Deacon