Richard Stone’s ‘gleam’ in London
If you live in London, this post is for you! An incredible contemporary sculptor is opening a new solo show titled gleam at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery next Thursday, September 11th.
Richard Stone‘s sculpture morphs art historical motifs into relatable figures, creating a new image from repurposed contexts using antique media like bronze and marble.
The artist is most interested in abstracting and breaking down contemporary representations of universal ideas that might be found more easily in painting and photography but not so much in sculpture:
“the rescuer,” 2014
bronze, patina
approx 57x23x23cm
How has your process of molding and sculpting works changed as your art has developed?
I’ve started to find a new and more focused language in bronze and marble, working more directly with preparatory wax models, that has opened up many more possibilities.
I’ve long been interested in how I can recast classical themes in contemporary light and these materials are enabling me to do that, not least because, in essence, they’re such beautiful, beguiling materials, ancient in origin, but utterly contemporary and limitless in scope.
When did you first begin experimenting with the abstracted human form in three dimensions, and why?
It really started with looking to describe and make physical, the space around existing figurative objects, often in heroic poses, applying layers of wax to create an amorphous, contrasting form.
This not only enabled me to evoke a duality of form and material, but importantly, to think through the idea of representation and it’s conventions, more keenly, exploring the increasingly contemporary point at which representation begin to blur, dissolve or fall apart.
What is it that usually sparks the initial idea for a new sculpture?
It can be anything, visual or literary, historical or contemporary, a found object, a work of art, a place, but quite often a line from a book or poem.
What do you hope your work communicates to the viewer?
I think any intention on the part of the artist has to remain open, but the hope is always that the work is resonant enough to meet people where they are, in that moment, or be powerful enough to form a memory.
Which part of your upcoming September show are you most excited about?
For me, these works represent years of thinking and making, but it’s really now, that they’ve come together, in the form and mediums that best express them. The classical materials I’ve returned too have been updated and for me, represent a much stronger visual and contextual statement.
The exhibition in that sense is both a consolidation as well as a departure, I would say it’s a new statement of artistic intent.
“only in the ruins will you be free,” 2014
statuario marble
approx 91x57x10cm
Richard’s show at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery will be on view until October 12th.
Interested in going to the opening? Find the details here.
And see more of Richard’s work on his website and Twitter feed.
