EDINBURGH.- The first major outdoor exhibition of sculptures by the British artist Thomas Houseago ever to be staged, The Beat of the Show comprises new and recent large-scale works, mostly in bronze and being exhibited for the first time. One of the most original and compelling sculptors of his generation, Thomas Houseago is known for his often monumental sculptures which subvert classical and modernist forms using a variety of materials (wood, clay, plaster, iron and steel); a synthesis of abstraction and figuration, they clearly reveal the process of making and often contain elements of the drawing which lies at their core.

Thomas Houseago was born in Leeds, England in 1972. He studied at the St. Martin’s College of Art and De Ateliers in Amsterdam. He lived and worked for several years in Brussels before moving to Los Angeles.

Houseago is a sculptor whose powerful work looks back at the past and yet remains utterly contemporary. He often works in traditional materials - bronze, wood, plaster, mediums that were considered outdated as he began his career in the early nineties as the Young British Artists were at the height of their influence. Houseago remained committed to exploring the domain of figuration through the methods of molding, carving and casting. His work often takes the form of monumental figures, in both classic and primitive poses, but the way in which they are fashioned is where they become totally new.