Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003) was one of eight young sculptors included in the 'New Aspects of British Sculpture' at the twenty-sixth Venice Biennale in 1952 – the exhibition Herbert Read came to define as the 'Geometry of Fear' – where he exhibited two of his 'balanced sculptures'. Such significant exposure of his work propelled him onto the international stage. Chadwick's Winged Figures are not allegorical in form but symbolise man and woman – shown in his adoption of the differently geometric shaped heads, which are a result of his intuitive dialogue with materials and process and is particularly evident in the delicate nature of his welding around their wings. The couple interact with one another, as if conducting a dance or in animated conversation.

The paired figure was Chadwick’s leitmotif throughout his career. From 1953 onwards Chadwick developed an array of studies based on paired forms, whose features were characterised by sharp geometric shapes, lines and textures which challenged traditional figuration and were directly informed by abstraction and the ‘Geometry of Fear’. The first manifestation was Conjunction (1953), followed by Two Dancing Figures (1954), Teddy Boy and Girl (1955), Winged Figures (1955), and Encounter (1957). Chadwick’s figures were neither passive nor decorative in their meetings. In each instance there exists an energetic arc between the figures.