Relief Construction
- Artist: Anthony Hill
- Date: 1960–2
- Medium: Aluminium and plastic on hardboard
- Dimensions: object: 1105 x 914 x 48 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “Relief Construction” by Anthony Hill, made between 1960 and 1962. The piece is a wall‑mounted sculpture, or relief, that Hill began producing in the 1950s as part of his exploration of constructionism—geometric art built with industrial materials. Here he combines rigid vinyl laminate (RVL), aluminium angle sections bolted to a hardboard base, and a wooden frame into a crisp rectangular panel about 110 × 91 mm.
Hill chose aluminium and plastic because they were mass‑produced, allowing precise repetition of form. He explains that the layout follows a mathematical formula: a basic module determines the proportion of every element, so each white space and the grouping of angle sections are positioned by a set partition and progression. “With these new materials come a new ‘art object’ – the construction,” Hill remarked, emphasising how such material choice gives his work a clear structural rhythm.
The work was first exhibited in 1963 at I.C.A., then purchased for the collection in that same year. Today it sits in the Modern and Contemporary British Art display, illustrating Hill’s conviction that geometry, proportion, and industrial materials could combine to make visually satisfying artworks.
See it in person
Relief Construction is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
