Tony Long

1942 (Massachusetts, USA) - 2001 (Paris)

From 1963 until 1966 he attended Boston University. From 1967 until 1969 he studied at New York University and from 1973 until 1974 he explored humanities at Paris University. In 1973 he worked for Cuban sculptor Augustin Cardenas (Paris) and studied literature and philosophy in the USA. He acquired his artistic capacities autodidactically.

From 1977 until 1980 Tony Long Tony exhibited his works at Farideh Cadot gallery in Paris. From 1977 until 1979 his works were shown at the Museum of modern Art in New York. In 1979 he was awarded the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington D.C. and in the same year he exhibited at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. In 2000 the artist became a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.

Amongst other places Long has been living in Southern Styria since the 1970s – he is a cosmopolitan on both a geographic and artistic-intermediate level (science, literature, art). In his art constructivist elements play a role. He abstracts them and tries to reassemble them in harmonious compositions. Many of Tony Long’s works were created for public space. His preferred material is metal, which he treats in many different ways. He welds, bends and cuts the metal and turns it into colossal sculptures in which he would often integrate basic shapes such as a square, circle and triangle, newly interpreting them every time. His heavy metal sculptures convey incredible lightness. Often the work titles would give a concrete reference for the meaning of the works, however, some withdraw from references for interpretation.