Tom Otterness is best known for his figurative sculptures of plump, asymmetrical little people formed out of cast plaster or metal. These forms have a playful, even comical quality and are often involved in some sort of activity or motion.

Otterness was a founding member of the artist's activist group Colab in 1977 and has always had an interest in sculpting. He started out by selling small cast figurines that he made in the late 1970s. He became known for his white plaster friezes of the small figures engaged in acts of war and love. He held his first solo exhibition at the Brooke Alexander Gallery in New York in 1983. His decorative assemblages for the show were mounted above doorways and atop walls.

It is clear that Otter...