Virginia Overton's Animal Magnetism exhibition at Goldsmiths CCA features reworked found objects

Virginia Overton's exhibition Animal Magnetism at Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art in London presents sculptures created from found and reworked materials, including brass tubes, steel semicircles, and welded steel planes. The show, on view through 31 July, features works like Untitled (Arc) with timber planks wedged between ceiling and floor and Untitled (chime for Caro) incorporating Sir Anthony Caro's offcuts into chimes. Overton's approach involves disassembling sculptures after exhibitions and recycling components for new creations, a practice she discussed with curator Fabrice Stroun in 2013. The gallery's basement space resembles a workshop with exposed brick walls and concrete floors, described by curators as an 'indoor sculpture garden.' Upstairs in the near-dark Tank Gallery, Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra (1896) plays on a slowed loop alongside slowly spinning mirrored works. Outdoor Courtyard Gallery installations include hard-angled steel pieces enclosed by studded walls. Overton's work at the 2022 Venice Biennale featured floating glass orbs in the Venetian lagoon, contrasting with the more industrial aesthetic of this London exhibition. Her sculptures often appear elusive and aloof, with works like Untitled (good boy) resembling a distorted animal form and Untitled (2014) featuring a bent metal rod affixed to wood. The artist's materials range from timber to metal, deployed with what she describes as a constructivist sensibility.