The title of this exhibition, a phrase by Paul Valery which is quoted by Italo Calvino in the notes of his Norton Lecture on “lightness”, expresses the idea that to fly, to leave the bounds of gravity, to reach higher and to head for the skies is to expend effort, concentration, and volition.

Richard Long’s fifth solo exhibition at Galleria Lorcan O’Neill is dedicated to mud paintings, with a selection of works starting from 2005 up to works made in the past two months on canvas and on Fabriano paper. The show also includes a line made on site using Italian Serpentino stone.

In this exhibition we present a group of works which chronicle walks in Ireland, England, France, Italy and Greece. These texts, factual and poetic, evoke the silence and reflection of these journeys in often remote parts of the world. Long’s first text-work was made in 1969 for When Attitudes Become Form, the seminal exhibition of Conceptual Art curated by Harald Szeemann at the Bern Kunsthalle, Switzerland. 

Using Italian stones and Tiber River mud, Richard Long poses primary shapes as symbols of universal culture found both in the host place and also in relationship between man and nature.

Richard Long’s sculptures are made from the stones that pave Roman streets – “sampietrini” – as well as rose-colored stone from Puglia, along with photographs of landscapes that document the artist’s presence in nature.

Richard Long’s exhibition Hand Made, created for the Galleria Lorcan O’Neill Roma’s opening, presents a series of works on wood using mud from the rivers Avon in Somerset and Tiber in Rome.

Houghton Hall hosts a major exhibition by internationally-celebrated Turner Prize-winning British Landscape artist, Richard Long.

From 30 April to 26 October 2017