MOTTISFONT.- David Breuer-Weil’s Alien has become a much-loved London landmark; it is even pictured on the Welcome Board at Luton Airport. When located in Grosvenor Gardens by Victoria Station, tourists could be seen taking its photo and Londoners used Alien as a sunbathing spot or backrest while they lunched.

Five times the size of the average person, this monumental work has really captured everyone’s attention and affection. Now Alien is landing in its new home at the National Trust’s beautiful property Mottisfont in Hampshire.

David Breuer-Weil commented, I am delighted for my large sculpture Alien to have landed at Mottisfont, where there have been visitors for over 800 years, dating back to the 13th century. My visitor is an Alien from another world, another culture, representing contemporary life where visitors can arrive not just from other cultures but also from other spheres. I want to surprise the viewer here with the shock of recognition. Alien is another version of ourselves. I am happy for this moment of recognition to take place in the remarkable environment of Mottisfont, with its rich texture of history and physical beauty.

We’re really excited that Alien is going to be sited here for the next year, said Louise Govier, Visitor Experience Manager and curator of exhibitions at Mottisfont. It will work well in our grounds, where there’s room to catch a glimpse of it from afar and come to investigate. I think our visitors will be intrigued by this monumental figure who appears to have fallen to earth, who doesn’t belong and yet seems to have taken root.

The massive scale of the work helps portray the emotions expressed and heighten the drama of its presence. Alien is executed in the loose sculptural style that is the hallmark of Breuer-Weil's monumental pieces. The work is scaled up from an originally much smaller maquette and the finger prints and marks of the artist have also been scaled up. This means that the work - as well as its subject - appears to be the consequence of some greater, gigantic being. The surface of Alien will also be familiar to anyone who has seen Breuer-Weil's work in recent years as it is marked across all over with his graffiti musings and doodling. Amongst these marks can be found the name of his grandfather who, in part, inspired the work, as well as a portrait of the Kaiser of Nerac, who rules the imaginary world where many of Breuer-Weil's paintings and other works find their inspiration.

Breuer-Weil believes that every human is a fallen angel in some sense. Alien brings together these contemporary and timeless themes. The textured dynamism of the bronze makes the figure seem alive as the human form radiates between raw physicality and emotion.

David Breuer-Weil was born in London in 1965. His work frequently explores ideas of humanity, history and existence. After studying at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art and Clare College, Cambridge he was awarded a bursary at Sotheby’s where he stayed until 1997 filling roles in many of the departments. He refers to Sotheby’s as ‘the greatest art school in the world’, and there is little doubt that the years he spent in direct physical contact with works by the masters of the past enhanced his knowledge of technique and his own artistic direction.

Breuer-Weil is famed for his monumental solo shows of vast painted canvases referred to as the Projects. ‘The Project’ was held in 2001 at the Roundhouse, Camden; ‘Project 2’ was held at the Bargehouse, OXO Tower in 2003; ‘Project 3’ was then held in conjunction with the Ben Uri Gallery in 2007; and at the beginning of 2013 ‘Project 4’ was staged in The Vaults, Waterloo. Alongside the Projects Breuer-Weil continues to produce on a smaller scale works on paper, paintings and sculpture.

Recently, Breuer-Weil has created monumental sculptures which have been displayed in London including Hanover Square and Grosvenor Gardens and around the world. Visitor, Visitor 2 and Alien were included in Sotheby’s 2010, 2011 and 2013 Beyond Limits exhibitions at Chatsworth House. Breuer-Weil lives and works in London.