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The dramatic task of re-imagining clerical identity proved crucial to the Renaissance and Reformation. Jon Wood brings new light to ways in which that discussion animated reconfigurations of church, state, and early modern populace. End-Times considerations of Christian religion had played a part in upheavals throughout the medieval period, but the Reformation era mobilized that tradition with some new possibilities for understanding institutional leadership. Perceiving dangers of an overweening institution on the one hand and anarchic "priesthood of all believers" on the other hand, early Protestants defended legitimacy of ordained ministry in careful coordination with the state. The early Reformation in Zurich emphatically disestablished traditional priesthood in favour of a state-supported "prophethood" of exegetical-linguistic expertise. The author shows that Heinrich Bullinger's End-Times worldview led him to reclaim for Protestant Zurich a notion of specifically clerical "priesthood," albeit neither in terms of statist bureaucracy nor in terms of the traditional sacramental character that his precursor (Huldrych Zwingli) had dismantled. Clerical priesthood was an extraordinarily fraught subject in the sixteenth century, especially in the Swiss Confederation. Heinrich Bullinger's private manuscripts helpfully supplement his more circumscribed published works on this subject. The argument about reclaiming a modified institutional priesthood of Protestantism also prompts re-assessment of broader Reformation history in areas of church-state coordination and in major theological concepts of "covenant" and "justification" that defined religious/confessional distinctions of that era.

The sculptures of Tony Cragg are exhibited throughout summer of 2011 in Lucca at the church of San Cristofero (both inside and out), and in the town's two piazzas - Piazza Anfiteatro.The exhibition It is, it isn't curated by Jon Wood, concentrates on Cragg's fascination for accumulation and stratification through a rigorous selection of important sculptures, including some from the Early Forms and Rational Beings series.In a show that takes place both indoors and out in Lucca, these sculptures have the opportunity to shine and show their magic in an ancient city that is itself a stratification of history, cultural life and material significance.In the catalogue, Wood discusses these 'layers of life', a leitmotiv of the exhibit, introducing the relationship between sculpture and poetry and the role of poetry in Cragg's sculptural imagination. Featuring the poetry of Conrad Aiken, W.H.Auden and Walt Whitman among others.2011 is a significant year in Cragg's career as he has major exhibitions of his work in France, Italy, Germany, Scotland and the United States.Published on the occasion of the exhibition Tony Cragg: It is, it isn't at the Church of San Cristoforo, Lucca, Italy, 26 June - 10 September 2011.

Exploring Emily Young's carved works from the 1980s to the present, Jon Wood's thoughtful survey places her sculpture within its resonant contexts, both art historical and more broadly cultural. In doing so, it draws attention to the richness of her sculptural imagination and the issues that charge it, from ecology and environmentalism to poetry and philosophy. The inclusion of Young's early paintings also draws out her long-standing preoccupation with narrative. Probing the relationship between the artist's sculpture and the material life of things, Young's original way of thinking, seeing and feeling is skilfully presented, so enriching our understanding of this important contemporary figure.

The dramatic task of re-imagining clerical identity proved crucial to the Renaissance and Reformation. Jon Wood brings new light to ways in which that discussion animated reconfigurations of church, state, and early modern populace. End-Times considerations of Christian religion had played a part in upheavals throughout the medieval period, but the Reformation era mobilized that tradition with some new possibilities for understanding institutional leadership. Perceiving dangers of an overweening institution on the one hand and anarchic “priesthood of all believers” on the other hand, early Protestants defended legitimacy of ordained ministry in careful coordination with the state. The early Reformation in Zurich emphatically disestablished traditional priesthood in favour of a state-supported “prophethood” of exegetical-linguistic expertise. The author shows that Heinrich Bullinger’s End-Times worldview led him to reclaim for Protestant Zurich a notion of specifically clerical “priesthood,” albeit neither in terms of statist bureaucracy nor in terms of the traditional sacramental character that his precursor (Huldrych Zwingli) had dismantled. Clerical priesthood was an extraordinarily fraught subject in the sixteenth century, especially in the Swiss Confederation. Heinrich Bullinger’s private manuscripts helpfully supplement his more circumscribed published works on this subject. The argument about reclaiming a modified institutional priesthood of Protestantism also prompts re-assessment of broader Reformation history in areas of church-state coordination and in major theological concepts of “covenant” and “justification” that defined religious/confessional distinctions of that era.

This exhibition and catalogue coincided with the 150th anniversary of Sigmund Freud s birth. The Henry Moore Institute in association with the Freud Museum presents a unique opportunity to explore Freud s relationship with sculpture. This exhibition catalogue, containing numerous photographs of the present restaging in Leeds and of the study in London, highlights their meaning both individually and as an ensemble. Of the thousands of pieces he amassed he kept a small, but changing group on his desk; forming an audience of bronze, wood and marble sculptures, gathered from Egypt, China, Greece and Rome. Wood writes of the striking sculptural encounters at stake here when this ever-changing collection of sculpture is viewed close up and on the level in this study setting, whilst Molnar analyses a 1914 etching of Freud in front of his collection and Ward looks at the relationships between body, chair and desk.

This career-spanning publication focuses on the history of Tony Cragg's 'Stack' works that began in the late 1960s, when, as a student, he began piling up miscellaneous and recycled detritus from the studio in order to create large rectilinear sculptures that refuted the usual clean lines of Minimalism. The artist has variously stacked, gathered and layered ever since, deploying various acts of stratification, compilation, accrual and accumulation in his work. The book contains a major essay by Dr. Jon Wood, entitled "Strata, structures, stories: Stacking in Cragg's sculpture" that spans over five decades of making and reveals what continues to set him apart from other sculptors of his time. Exhibition: Lisson Gallery, London, UK (20.11.2019-29.02.2020)

Nigel Hall: Sculpture & Drawings is an ambitious monograph which looks at his work in relation to sculptural developments in Britain, Europe and North America. It presents the two main strands of Hall's practice - sculpture and drawing - as distinct but also interrelated.Line and space are central to Hall's work, with the artist creating highly refined two- and three-dimensional works that deploy a range of geometrical forms. The works he makes are always meticulous and measured, whilst offering intuitive visual conundrums that encourage looking and thinking. Unpicking the complexities of Hall's work and its display both indoors and outdoors, Wood provides the definitive narrative of one of Britain's most accomplished sculptors working today.

Examining an exhibition that looks at sculpture and video art together in terms of ventriloquism and its animating metaphors, this work examines the relationship between object and operator, sculpture and maker.

'Tony Cragg: Sculptures and Works on Paper' is a comprehensive catalogue of a selection of Cragg's sculptures and works on paper exhibited at The Gallery at Windsor in Vero Beach, Florida from 25 February - 19 May, 2023.The catalogue features an in-conversation between Tony Cragg and Hans Ulrich Obrist, curator and artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in London, along with an in-depth essay by art historian and curator Jon Wood.Tony Cragg was born 1949 in Liverpool, UK. He lives and works in Wuppertal, Germany.Further information, taken from The Gallery at Windsor website:"Tony Cragg has not only changed the way we see sculpture, but also the way we see and think about the material world more generally," said Jon Wood.The artist explores the complex relationships between the natural and man-made world to create an innovative, distinctive sculptural language.A self-described "radical materialist," the artist is interested in the internal structures of material that result in their external appearance.Originally informed by British land art and performance art, his work is inspired by the macro and microstructures found in nature, as well as an engagement with industrial materials and processes.Cragg represented Britain at the 43rd Venice Biennale in 1988, and the same year was awarded the Turner Prize at Tate in London.

"The future of sculpture has only just begun. Its potential is greater now than ever before, and its possibilities are just starting. Its language and its forms are just beginning to evolve." So says Tony Cragg, a believer not just in sculpture, but in freestanding, made-from-scratch abstraction. Cragg refuses to accept the domination of installation and the ready-made. His dedication to the form as he works in it--to its complexities, to its ability to interrogate the world and heighten our sensitivity--and his consistent espousal of that dedication, have given him an intriguing and unusual role in contemporary art. Cragg is a promoter of his medium in an age of anxiety about medium-based definitions, an age of crossover. There are plenty of words here, in an interview and three essays, but it's the sketches, watercolors, installation views, studio photographs and the sculptures themselves that make up the bulk of this new volume.