Elephant Palace by Anthony Caro

Elephant Palace
1989
Sculpture
Steel
Collection of the Tate, United Kingdom

In the 1980s, Caro began combining sculptural and architectural types. creating what he called “sculptitecture” of which “Elephant Palace” is an important example. Inspired by his travels the elephant head motif is suggestive of India, but it was also a visit to Greece that prompted the exploration of the relationship between the body and other organic forms and the rectilinear architectural shapes. In this piece, Caro presents an entrance that is not dissimilar from a mouthy and a roof like a domed skull. The connotations of organic and inorganic are brought together and suggest a tension between natural and man-made worlds.

Anthony Caro
Sculpture
Born: 8 March 1924, London, UK
Nationality: British
Died: 23 October 2013, London, UK

Caro was an abstract sculptor whose work is characterized by assemblages of metal and using found industrial objects. Caro, with his modernist style, was lauded as the greatest British sculptor of his generation