David Breuer-Weil’s monumental sculpture Brothers was displayed at London’s iconic Marble Arch as part of Westminster City Council’s City of Sculpture programme. Brothers depicts the joining together of two separate but connected individuals, explicitly siblings.
The position of Brothers at Marble Arch is very significant as this sculpture is a human arch showing the joining of two minds. It is an image of coming together, resolution and peace. But, it also offers a suggestion of symbolic meanings showing the arch as a symbol of connection and resolution. Distances between people that were formerly unbridgeable are now connected in less than a second and Brothers expresses this miraculous element of modernity.
This piece is very human and physical with a deliberately textured surface 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.
The artist comments, The two figures are brothers and partners. But, they also suggest the idea that each person has two aspects – good and evil. I believe that every person has the capacity for both elements. I like the idea that when you communicate with another person you are also seeing a reflection of yourself, of your own humanity. My communicators, my brothers are communicating in a very physical and intimate way. I want the viewer to see the arch from underneath, to look upwards at this moment of communication because such a connection is a form of hope that we can be understood by ourselves or another person. The image is a physical embodiment of the joining of minds.
Cllr Robert Davis MBE DL, Deputy Leader, and Cabinet Member for the Built Environment, said, As custodians of this fantastic city, Westminster City Council is passionate in its efforts to turn Westminster into London’s most celebrated open air gallery, providing residents and visitors with a unique opportunity to interact with public art of all shapes and sizes in some of London’s most iconic locations. Consequently, we are delighted to see the successful installation of this latest sculpture Brothers by David Breuer-Weil at Marble Arch as part of our City of Sculpture programme. To date, our programme has benefited from the involvement of more than 15 galleries, as well as a number of individual artists, spanning 20 sites across Westminster.
