Sculpture at the Intersection of Art and Architecture
Architectural Abstractions will be Damian Arkeveld's most ambitious Australian exhibition, occupying the MCA's Level 3 galleries from September to December 2025. The exhibition brings together new and recent works that operate at the boundary between sculpture and architecture — forms that suggest walls, columns, thresholds, and shelters while remaining irreducibly sculptural.
Exhibition Concept
Architecture and sculpture share a common ancestry. Both disciplines shape material to define space, create shelter, and express meaning. Yet somewhere in the modern era, the two were separated — architecture became functional, sculpture became autonomous. This exhibition proposes their reunion.
Each of the ten works in the exhibition takes an architectural element as its starting point — a column, an arch, a wall, a threshold — and transforms it through the sculptor's process of carving and subtraction into something that hovers between function and contemplation.
Planned Works
Threshold Series (3 works)
Three monumental limestone arches, each carved from a single block, will form the exhibition's entrance sequence. These are not functional doorways but invitations to cross from one state of being to another. The arches decrease in size as the viewer moves through them, creating a compression of space that intensifies the experience of entering the main gallery.
Column Studies (4 works)
Four vertical works in different stones — marble, granite, limestone, and sandstone — explore the column as both structural element and sculptural form. Each column bears subtle interventions: a twist, a void, a change in surface texture that disrupts the expected geometry. These works reference Brancusi's Endless Column while asserting a distinctly contemporary and material-specific approach.
Wall Works (3 works)
Three large relief panels, each over two metres wide, will be mounted on the gallery walls. These works extend Arkeveld's practice from freestanding sculpture into the territory of architectural relief — a tradition stretching from ancient Assyria through Romanesque churches to contemporary public art. The reliefs depict abstracted landscapes: geological strata, erosion patterns, and the layered surfaces of quarry walls.
Process Documentation
A dedicated gallery will present the process behind the works: quarry visits, stone selection, maquettes, drawings, time-lapse carving footage, and studio photography. This behind-the-scenes material reveals the extraordinary physical and intellectual labour required to transform raw stone into finished sculpture.
Public Programme
The exhibition will be accompanied by:
- Artist talk: Damian Arkeveld in conversation with architect Glenn Murcutt
- Symposium: "Where Sculpture Meets Architecture" — two-day conference with international speakers
- Workshops: Stone carving workshops for adults and families
- Schools programme: Curriculum-linked visits for K-12 students
Significance
This exhibition represents a significant moment for Australian sculpture, positioning Arkeveld's work within an international discourse about the relationship between art and architecture. It follows his successful exhibitions in New York, London, and Brussels, bringing the full weight of his international experience to an Australian audience.
Dates: 1 September – 31 December 2025 Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Level 3 Galleries, Circular Quay, Sydney Curator: Rachel Kent, Chief Curator Supported by: Australia Council for the Arts, Create NSW, MCA Foundation