Plenty and Progress

Spectacularly glossy, bursting with a vibrant red that is endlessly reflected within its own mirrored surfaces, Mark Titchner’s wall sculpture Plenty and Progress seems at first glance to embody the affluence evoked by its title. Yet a closer inspection reveals that the apparent plenty is only surface deep. The sculpture isn’t precious metal but stainless steel, a material of austerity, while the circularity of the work seemingly resists any notion of linear progress. Situated within the City of London, the historical centre of Britain’s financial services industry, the Guildhall Art Gallery is perfectly placed to explore the often-controversial issues of money, wealth and the economy. Plenty and Progress will form the cornerstone of a new collection of contemporary art at the gallery, intended to provoke debate on the merits – and faults – of capitalism.