British sculptor Antony Gormley has opened two concurrent exhibitions in two countries: "Geestgrond" at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) in Belgium, curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, and "What Holds Us" at Galleria Continua in San Gimignano, Italy. The Antwerp show features works including the steel behemoth "Cave" (2019), the aluminum installation "Orbit Field III" (2026), and the new "Brancher" piece "Attend" (2025), alongside early experimental works and pieces from the museum's permanent collection. In San Gimignano, Gormley has created "Innercity" (2026), a cardboard labyrinth of body-shaped forms that will gradually disintegrate as visitors interact with it.
These exhibitions matter because they showcase Gormley's enduring exploration of the body, space, and materiality across vastly different contexts—a hidden white cube within a historic museum and a medieval Italian borgo. The juxtaposition highlights how location and architecture shape his site-specific practice, while the use of ephemeral materials like cardboard and bread underscores his interest in impermanence and human presence. The KMSKA show also demonstrates a curatorial dialogue between contemporary sculpture and historical works, reinforcing Gormley's place in the broader art historical canon.