On 1st June 2000, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Chair of the British Council, unveiled a new sculpture on the ‘fifth plinth’, a site at the top of the Mall within hailing distance of Trafalgar Square. The work, Reel 3 by Phillip King, measures seven square metres and is made from six separate pieces of steel vividly painted in magenta, orange and blue. It was loaned from the artist and the Bernard Jacobson Gallery and sited outside the headquarters of the British Council adjacent to Admiralty Arch and facing St James’s Park for a short period in 2000.

Reel 3 was the first contemporary work of art to be installed in the Mall, London’s premier route for State processions. King’s work is a homage to Matisse’s great painting, The Dance, and it was one of the very few painted sculptures on public view in London. Its festive air reflects the new energy and vibrancy of the city and it made a striking contrast to its nearest neighbours - a 19th century memorial to the Royal Marines and a statue of Captain Cook.

Phillip King is President of the Royal Academy  and one of Britain’s most eminent and celebrated sculptors. Born in 1934 in Tunisia, he attended St Martin’s School of Art and became assistant to Henry Moore in 1959. He has served as a Trustee of the Tate Gallery and was professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art from 1980-1990. King has exhibited worldwide and is only the second British artist ever to have been invited to exhibit at the Forte di Belvedere in Florence (the other being Henry Moore). Works by King are sited in Osaka, Sydney, Munich and Rotterdam.

For further information please contact Brett Rogers