A Celebration of British Sculpture Harold Martin Botanic Garden 28 June - 27 Sept 2009 Welcome Professor Robert Burgess

It is with great pleasure that I I am confident that the many visitors to welcome you to this year’s the Harold Martin Botanic Garden will sculpture show. This is the eighth experience many hours of enjoyment year that the University of Leicester from this year’s exhibition. It will has hosted a sculpture exhibition in certainly provide the opportunity to the wonderful surroundings of the engage with a range of diverse Harold Martin Botanic Garden, sculpture in these well-tended gardens. which provides the artists with a creative and inspiring environment Finally, I would like to thank the in which to work. Established by curator, the artists, students, and the the University in 1947, the Garden’s many members of the University staff 16 acres are home to many who have given so generously of their historical plants and interesting time to make this exhibition a great features and are a great success. educational resource for researchers, school pupils, students I do hope you enjoy this unique and the general public. experience.

Each year’s show has a particular theme and this year we are concentrating on A Celebration of British Sculpture. The exhibition contains a wide variety of exhibits by a Professor Robert Burgess number of distinguished artists to Vice-Chancellor whom I extend a warm welcome. I am University of Leicester also delighted to welcome Dr John Sydney Carter, FRBS (Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors) to the exhibition and that he has agreed to take on the role of exhibition curator for the first time. A designer, painter and sculptor, John exhibits nationally and internationally but his roots are embedded in his native county of Leicestershire. He says of his work “The purpose of sculpture is to communicate through the media of form” and he uses materials such as bronze, steel and other metals to produce bold but sensitively executed work which is strongly influenced by Front cover the sea, industrial machinery and the Falling Man 9/11 human form. John Sydney Carter FRBS Painted steel 2 A Celebration of British Sculpture Harold Martin Botanic Garden 28 June - 27 Sept 2009

3 4 Foreword Dr John Sydney Carter FRBS

Sculpture in the Garden 2009 is a This is the 8th exhibition to be held in celebration of British sculpture, the University’s Botanic Garden and with all of the artworks by the visitor numbers grow annually, as sculptors located throughout Great people come to see a new exhibition Britain. Making large-scale and theme each year. Individuals and sculpture is a heroic pursuit. The local groups often come to draw and sculptor needs a large studio; paint the sculptures set against the wrestle with the cost of materials, backdrop of the garden, art inspiring equipment, casting in the foundry, more art. This annual event has caught transport and at the same time the imagination of many people who keep the creative spirit of sculpture were not aware the University’s alive for us, the public, to enjoy. Botanic Garden was open to the general public. Sculpture was one of mankind’s earliest activities and as such was a The Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert major formative influence on our Burgess and his colleagues have mental processes. There is a great enthusiastically supported the power in sculpture, particularly when exhibition each year. This has led to placed adjacent to contemporary new sculptures being commissioned architecture or in a public place. It for many of the new university enhances and, in some ways, makes a buildings, which the continued place complete. success of the University of Leicester has made possible. This year’s exhibition consists of a wide range of sculpture in varying media, Once again the creativity and energy scale and design. But whether the of the gardeners who maintain the work is abstract or figurative, it can site has ensured the ideal backdrop change the way we look at things. The for the latest sculpture exhibition, so Harold Martin Botanic Garden is a that art and nature can live in special place, because here we can live harmony. with both art and nature, each complementing the other. Viewing artwork outdoors is different to the often confined space of an art gallery. The large green spaces, rockeries, trees, flower beds and pool area all provide unique environments to excite both sculptor and the visitor.

Left to right: John Sydney Carter, Great Circle; , Rising Beast 5 Tom Allan ARBS

Tom Allan works at Glasgow Sculpture Studios. For the last decade Allan’s work has been concerned with developing a modern approach to making sculpture in stone. He works with stone carvers in Scotland and international marble sculptors in Carrara, Italy.

“My approach unites the immediacy of direct carving by manual methods with the use of many mechanical aids, concentrating on the expression of the essence of the concept or emotion in a suitable form.

‘Sail Away’ is carved from Carrara marble. The form is intended to convey the impression of a sailing boat, without being a model or a direct representation. The colour of the marble, the streamlined shape, and the contrast between polished and rough or cut surfaces suggests the lightness and speed of the vessel, and the exhilaration of its movement.

‘The Eye of the Storm’ is in Portoro marble, black with dramatic veining. The violence of the colouring gave me the idea of a lightning storm, Sail Away (illustrated) emphasised by the jagged shapes 2008 which I have left towards the centre. Carrara marble But there is a vacancy at the very H75 x W30 x D40 cm centre, which represents the calm at the eye of a hurricane. The ‘Eye of the Eye of the Storm Storm’ is a space of calm, a time for 2009 reflection perhaps?” Portoro marble H90 x W50 x D50 cm

6 Mary Anstee-Parry ARBS

Mary Anstee-Parry has exhibited widely, from The Minories in Colchester to The Royal British Society of Sculptors’ summer exhibition. Anstee-Parry is an educationalist, letter-cutter, woodcarver and sculptor.

“I have a great love of gothic and renaissance carving, admiring both the craftsmanship and sense of design. It is important for me to contemporise these skills, bringing into a modern context the essence of the elegant, witty designs which were so typical of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.

A bee-keeping friend came into the garden explaining that he had a problem with his hive and needed to burn some tobacco underneath it as a disinfectant – and this sculpture was the result of that. Note the overall shape of the carving is of a very large ‘roll-up’.

I have always been interested in effigies and was amused by Philip Larkin’s image of the couple holding hands rather than having them folded across their chests – this is another take on the original image.” Making a Bee-Line (illustrated) 1999 Sandstone H80 x W35 x D35 cm

Effigy 2008 Limestone H70 x W35 x D35 cm

7 Michael Dan Archer

Michael Dan Archer has exhibited widely in Britain, including solo exhibitions at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Djanogly Gallery in Nottingham. He has also exhibited and made works at sculpture symposiums in Japan, South Korea, Italy, Sardinia, Sweden, Germany, Dubai, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Australia.

Archer is also a senior lecturer at Loughborough University School of Art and Design.

“My sculptures primarily invoke the massiveness and physicality of stone and its relationship to architecture, humanity and landscape. Architectural forms, such as portals, obelisks and towers, play a central role in my sculptural explorations. The portals deal with zones of transformation and their rich surface qualities are emphasised by the fragmented nature of some works, which also relates to the fragmentation of our memories of dreams and of our cultural history.”

Untitled 2009 Cararra marble H190 x W240 x D100 cm

8 Rosemary Barnett

Rosemary Barnett was principal of the Sir Henry Doulton School in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent and founder of the School of Sculpture in Longton (1996 – 2005). Barnett has exhibited widely, as well as curating the Jerwood Sculpture Park exhibition in Worcester.

“Using the language of shape and form ‘Innocence’ depicts man as innocent, trusting and loving, entirely open to his fellow human beings, harmless and without guile. This sculpture is carved in pale pink corse hill, sandstone from Dumfries, Scotland, with a mellow terracotta colour. It is delight to carve.”

Innocence 1995 Corse Hill Stone H165 x W30 x D20 cm

9 Richard Baronio

Richard Baronio has exhibited internationally, including solo exhibitions at the ChinArt Gallery, Shanghai in China and the Artists Studio, . He has also exhibited in many group exhibitions around the world including Tokiwa Museum, Yamaguchi, Japan; Puthall Park Sculpture Show, Wiltshire; National Botanic Gardens, Dublin and Ralph Bunche Park (across from the United Nations), New York.

“I like to work “blind”, without plan or forethought. The process of making these sculptures, small pieces of metal welded together, is so slow and meditative, that the result is always unexpected, and the meaning often complex and slow to reveal itself.“

Boutonniere (illustrated) 2007 Welded stainless steel H69 x W182 x D69 cm

Dragons Tail 2008 Welded stainless steel H216 x W30 x D30 cm

10 David Begbie ARBS

Born in 1955 in Edinburgh and based in , David Begbie is renowned for his innovative steel mesh sculpture which is exhibited, collected and imitated globally. His subject is often the truncated or fragmented nude. His material is surprisingly sensitive enabling the finest subtleties and qualities of human touch to be rendered. 'Palm II' is appropriately a self portrait and is one of a pair, the other being currently on exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum's Sculpture Promenade in Cambridge. Interestingly they are not truncated forms, but rather delineated palms, existing as complete forms in their own right. In ‘Seangel’ Begbie has revisited a recurring theme of angels, combining the classical female nude with fin-like angelic wings. The sculpture’s ethereal presence is further accentuated by its simple suspended presentation. In full sunlight the pieces become simple transparent shapes.

“Light plays an integral part in my work and when shown outdoors, the sculpture changes dramatically when the translucent properties of the Palm II (illustrated) medium combine with ever shifting 2007 light conditions.” Bronze mesh and galvanised steel H125 x W120 x D20 cm (Sculpture) H274 x W140 x D56 cm (Easel frame)

Seangel 2005 Bronze mesh H130 x W160 x D20 cm

11 RA

Ralph Brown was born in 1928 in Leeds and studied at Leeds College of Art (famous at the time for two of its former students, and ) and the in London.

Scholarships followed; Paris in 1951 to work in the studio of Ossip Zadkine and Italy in 1954 to study Etruscan sculpture. He also worked for a period in Cannes making mosaic panels for Picasso.

During the 1950s his work attracted much critical acclaim and was shown alongside his contemporaries Armitage, Turnbull and Paolozzi. In the 1960’s his work became more figurative, concentrating on smooth, sensuous human forms. The veiled form is a recurring image in his more recent work and can be seen in ‘La Sposa’, a large marble piece at Sculpture at Goodwood, ‘The Bride’ bronze relief and ‘La Vellata’, a silver piece created for Gallery Pangolin’s ‘Sterling Stuff’ exhibition in 2002.

Brown was elected a Royal Academician in 1972. A major retrospective of his sculpture and Vernal Figure (illustrated) drawings was held by the Henry 1956-57 Moore Centre for Sculpture in Leeds Bronze on circle stone base City Art Galleries in 1988. His work edition of 6 can be found in many public H135 x W45 on a 45 cm diameter base collections, including the Arts Council of Great Britain, Bristol City Art Clochard Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery, The 1955-56 National Museum of Wales and The Bronze, edition of 6 Gallery, London. H32 x W168 x D40 cm

12 Jon Buck

Born in 1951, Jon Buck studied at Nottingham and Manchester Art Schools. He was a fellow in sculpture at Cheltenham College of Art and the first artist in residence for Thamesdown Borough Council in 1983. Buck is a master of fine arts in sculpture.

In 1990 he was elected a member of the Royal West of England Academy and in 1994 became an associate of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.

Buck has completed many public commissions including ‘Embracing the Sea’ for Deal, Kent; ‘Returning to Embrace’ for Canary Wharf in London; ‘In the Swim’ for West Quay Centre, Southampton; and ‘Family’ for the new Paddington Central Development in London. His work is regularly exhibited both in the UK and abroad and is held in many public and private collections.

“From early on I have pursued my own interests of the figure and the natural world and my recent work has become more iconic in form, centred on the ‘making’ processes of casting from clay and plaster into metal. The Longdog (illustrated) sculptures act as intercessors between 2005 our contemporary intellectual selves Bronze, edition of 5 and a more ancient, unconscious self H143 x W180 x D32 cm that connects with our primitive, fundamental nature.” Dove 2001 Bronze, edition of 5 H200 (Incl. base) x W108 x D36 cm

13 John Sydney Carter FRBS

“The purpose of sculpture is to communicate through the medium of form, therefore words are inappropriate. But it may be helpful to state some of the motivation during the creative process.

The imagery and main inspiration of my sculpture is centred round my love of the sea, sailing, birds, fish and the east coast where I sail my yawl.

The sensation of inadequacy, when technology and the intelligence of mankind come into conflict with natural forces is reflected in my wave forms.

The ‘Great Circle’ sculpture is the story of a sea voyage using the great circle, track or curve. The sun, moon, earth and galaxy are to navigate and the sea, bird and fish represent the journey. ‘Navigator’ is the story of sailing on the East coast. The compass, arrows and chart depths mark the tortuous course through the sand banks. ‘Falling Man 9/11’ was a response to the World Trade Tower collapsing. The man is made from forged steel and has become fused Le Poisson (illustrated) Falling Man 9/11 with the fabric of the building. The 2009 2008 image has been on my mind since Painted steel Painted steel watching it on the television at the H180 x W250 x D75 cm H150 x W104 x D50 cm time. ‘Le Poisson’ continues my interest in the sea. The pick axe heads Navigator Great Circle lying in my studio for years formed the 2009 2009 inspiration for this sculpture.” Painted steel Painted steel H135 x W90 x D70 cm H240 x W220 x D90 cm

14 Lynn Chadwick 1914-2003

Lynn Chadwick is one of the giants of 20th century sculpture. Throughout a long and distinguished career his work maintained its relevance and individuality.

He first came to prominence when he was one of the 12 semi-finalists for the Unknown Political Prisoner International Sculpture Competition in 1953 and he went on to win the International Prize for Sculpture at the 1956 Venice Biennale. Many honours and awards followed and Chadwick’s work is a cornerstone of all major international art collections. In autumn 2003 a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at Tate Britain in London.

With his unique and singular language, Chadwick evolved a range of his own archetypal figures and beasts. In a new departure in the 1980’s he revisited many familiar themes from his earlier work, especially ‘the beast’, exploring a new medium, welded stainless steel. Like giant origami, these iconic images became sharper and more geometric, throwing back more light and Duttan’s Beast (illustrated) contrast and expressing renewed 1990 energy and power. Welded Stainless Steel, edition of 6 H140 x W305 x D84 cm

Rising Beast 1989 Welded stainless steel, edition of 6 H216 x W244 x D190 cm

15 Kate Denton ARBS

Kate Denton has been a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors since 1993. She trained at Goldsmiths College under Sir Ivor Robert Jones and studied all the classical forms of modelling, with much emphasis on anatomy and structure.

“My strongest interest is in taking the classical traditions and reinterpreting the form, and so creating images that go beyond mere representation and bring into the sculpture a sense of other qualities. I use different materials such as plaster or clay slip, mixed with straw or pieces of wood, which I build up then carve back.

Although I continue to work on the human form, I have worked most broadly on animal subjects, portraying a diverse range from the domesticated dog and horse through to the more exotic birds, lizards and larger mammals found in Africa.”

Paladines of Charlemagne 2008 Bronze Resin H200 x W45 x D60 cm (each column)

16 Sokari Douglas Camp CBE

Sokari Douglas Camp completed an MA in sculpture from the Royal College of Art in 1986 and in 2003 she was shortlisted for the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. In 2006 Douglas Camp was commissioned by Platform to make a living memorial to the environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. She exhibits nationally and internationally, and was awarded a CBE in 2005.

Douglas Camp‘s sculpture ‘Asoebi – Lace Sweat and Tears’ is inspired by the Yoruba concept of Asoebi, women in Nigeria who, to grace an occasion dress in the same attire of lace and haze head ties. This is to show solidarity and love for the occasion and the people organising the event. Sometimes, depending on their circumstances, some women who want to take part have to beg and borrow to look like their friends. The nearest English interpretation might be ‘blood sweat and tears’.

“The sculpture describes the beauty, suffering and indomitable spirit of people in Nigeria. The sculpture was created as a water feature for the Asoebi – Lace Sweat and Tears Garden for Africa at the British 2005 Museum in collaboration with Ground Power coated steel and water feature Force 2005.” H226 x W610 x D60 cm (each individual figure)

17 Ken Ford RCA

Ken Ford studied at the Royal College of Art, London between 1950 and 1954 and was awarded the Prix de Rome for Sculpture in 1955. He was Head of Sculpture at Leicester Polytechnic from 1967 to 1988, and is a visiting lecturer at the Elisabeth Frink School of Sculpture, Stoke on Trent. Ford has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally.

“My sculpture uses the forces and forms of landscape. My usual way of collecting the initial visual material is to walk about in the landscape with a pocket-sized sketchbook, making quick drawings of whatever catches my attention. In this way, I am able to observe and collect many dramas which I use to seed my imagination.

I am also interested in human presence and activity in the landscape, and nature’s responses to that presence: this dialogue is important. I have a deep- seated attachment to the countryside around the area I live in, and also to that of Southern Tuscany in Italy; these two areas provide the source material for most of my more recent sculptures.

Tuscan Landscape IV (illustrated) Musical Landscape At a formal level my sculpture is 2002 2001 concerned with the dramatisation of Bronze Bronze three dimensions by emphatic views. H120 x W82 x D165 cm H28 x W46 x D141 cm True sculptural space, I believe, imbues the sculpture with the illusion of Dante’s Landscape II separateness from actual space. 2003 Bronze Finally I draw on the history of H64 x W38 x D130 cm sculpture and of visual arts as a whole, on western literature and music, and on the great myths of world culture, to help give coherence to the products of my visual imagination.” 18 Miles Halpin

Miles Halpin is a self-taught artist who has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally. Halpin is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors.

“I was thinking about what a moon might look like as a carcass. If it had been attacked by some hungry gods, and then flung, picked clean, into space. Body cavity hollowed, skin flensed, nerves, tendons and bones exposed like contours on a map.

I was also thinking about Goya’s painting ‘Saturn Eating His Children’. It is a particularly brutal painting which I had always understood as an allegory of the state terrorising its citizens, and which can be thought of as a warning about the nature and exercise of power.

I thought there was an obvious parallel with the way humans have abused our world – a Saturnalian orgy of meta-cannibalism – and how, like Saturn, we may find the destruction wrought by our impulses will lead to the end of our bloodline.”

Skeleton of a Broken Moon 2006 Steel H205 x W185 x D185 cm

19 Derek Howarth ARBS

Derek Howarth is a BA Hons. sculptor, who trained as an assistant to Henry Moore. Howarth has created large-scale work for film, theatres, television productions, shopping centres, public buildings and exhibitions. He is also a visiting lecturer to various art colleges across the country.

“I agree with the contention that the role of a sculptor within any society is to take up the responsibility for creating icons, public landmarks and commemorative effigies that embody the historic and moral awareness of the fellow members of that society. When reading Greek mythological tales of adventure and heroes, one reflects that much of the moralising holds true for the events of today. Throughout the ages the restless young have ventured abroad in search of adventure and deeper understanding of themselves and the world about them – but beware the diversions of temptation. Temptation can divert you from your original course!”

Large Siren I – Pivotal 2009 Hard-coat urethane H210 x W90 x D240 cm

20 Polly Ionides

Polly Ionides is a Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and is an elected member of the Art Workers Guild. Ionides has also acquired an honours degree in zoology, which has been a strong influence on her work.

“My sculptures are an attempt to capture energy and tensions as natural forms do. Their purpose is to invite interaction with the light and space around them so there is a sense of new life, in sympathy with its surroundings rather than an alien co-existence. I work in both stone and bronze.

‘Terpsichore’ (Muse of Dance) is developed from a Fibonacci spiral such as is found in shells and sunflower heads.

‘Wind Dance’ depicts different types and strengths of wind, resulting from a study of a wide range of naturally- occurring aerodynamic forms such as feathers and sycamore seeds.”

Terpsichore (Muse of Dance) (illustrated) 2008 Bronze H140 x W110 x D90 cm

Wind Dance 2004-5 Bronze, stainless steel & Kilkenny limestone H114 x W61 x D53 cm

21 Diane Maclean FRBS

Diane Maclean works principally with stainless steel, making sculpture to be sited in a landscape or cityscape. She has worked on many public art commissions.

Reflection, colour and transparencies are often present in the work. Light is gathered in varying intensity on reflective surfaces and filtered through transparent material. This allows nature to be included and made visible in the framework of a sculpture.

“The materials I work with are an important element in the work. I try to find the best way to make their qualities visible. The advancement of science makes new materials and ways of seeing things available to the artist. Coloured stainless steel which I have used in ‘Eyeing You’ is such a material. The colour on the surface is created by an infinitesimally thin oxide layer on the surface of the polished sheet. Light entering the oxide layer, at differing angles during the day and seasons, causes colour change to be seen across the single surface.

Making suspended sculptures has sometimes resulted from lack of Eyeing You (illustrated) Sky Trap ground space, but also I like to draw 2007 2008 the eye upwards to reveal the beauty Stainless steel and coloured stainless Stainless steel, mesh, angle and plate and height of the tree canopy.” steel H240 x W100 x D100 cm H300 x W60 x D10 cm

Cradle 2007 Stainless steel, bar and chain H300 x W60 x D60 cm

22 Christopher Marvell

Despite living and working primarily in the south-east of England, Marvell spends a good deal of time at his home in St Ives, and draws inspiration from Cornish history and environment. This is clearly seen in his fishermen, seabirds and iconic Penwith birds.

Marvell’s sculpture is sparing in detail but fulsome in association. The solid, substantial, patinated human and animal subjects that constitute the larger part of his output manage to achieve an irresistible balance between humour and pathos, ugliness and beauty, strength and weakness, past and present, art and craft. Bringing to mind elements of the works of Marini, Giacometti, Miro and Moore, Marvell’s broadly representational sculpture is often charmingly quirky without ever being diminished by its idiosyncrasy.

Whether realised as solitary figures, arranged groups, or in juxtaposition with the man made, Marvell’s sculpture steers us into a reassessment of our conceptions both of the nature of things and of the things of nature.

Falling man “This is sculpture that appears to be 2006 what it is, but nevertheless asks what Bronze it is to appear to be anything.” Life size

23 Charlotte Mayer

Charlotte Mayer was born in Prague in 1929 and came to England with her family in 1939. She studied at Goldsmiths College, London and at the Royal College of Art. She is an associate of the Royal College of Art and a fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.

Mayer has completed major public commissions for Alton Hospital, Basingstoke Hospital, The Barbican and Banque Paribas in London. Her work is held in many corporate and private collections and she exhibits regularly both in The UK and abroad.

“Most of my sculptures are cast into bronze from originals made from materials found in the studio or the countryside: tree trunks, leaves, the stalks of umbellifers, balsa scantlings and wax. To cast my work is a challenge – to maintain the poise and fragility of each piece stretches the limits of wax and metal to their extremes.”

Sea Circle 1994 Bronze edition of 12 H50 x W48 X D40 cm

24 John W Mills PPRBS ARCA FRSA

John W Mills studied at the Hammersmith School of Art 1947- 1954 and the Royal College of Art 1956 -1960. He has been a teacher and exhibited widely both nationally and internationally.

“This collection of three sculptures is part of a series of works based on the subject of springboard diving. This was my sport and I competed at county level throughout my teenage years and after. As result I am fascinated by the representation of flight and acrobatic movement that has both power and grace. To allude to this in a static sculptural form is a challenge that I find continuously interesting. It allows the study of athletic bodies, male and female, making specific sequences of movement. The subject defies gravity for a split moment and my remembrance of the fleeting moment of flying is a powerful stimulant.

The depiction of movement preoccupies me and features in all my sculpture ranging from big physical dynamic gestures to small facial expressions, all of which, demands constant observation of the human figure in all its manifestations.” Twisting Somersaults and Entry Reverse Somersaulting and Entry (illustrated) 1963-2003 2002 Bronze Bonded marble H52 x D41 x W11 cm H329 x D99 x W61 cm

Diver – Entry 1999 Walnut and elmwood H218 x D40 x W35 cm

25 Gudrun Nielsen MA FRBS

Gudrun Nielsen has won international acclaim for her sculptures and has practiced as a sculptor in the UK since 1989.

Nielsen uses geometrical forms in her sculptures often relating to balance, movement and order. Her site specific sculpture “Wheel of Progress” designed for the Design Museum in London 1992 express this clearly, as well “Changes” the winning entry for the 1998 International Greenham Common Sculpture Competition.

Some of her recent work is influenced by old Japanese wooden architecture and its tradition. Her ‘Japanese Teahouse’, on show in the Harold Martin Botanic Garden in 2005, was her first sculpture in the series. It was a non functional 3 mat teahouse – just a showpiece without a function. The same year Nielsen exhibited an 8 mat teahouse in a Reykjavík art gallery. This was also non-functional, except for when she performed a Japanese tea ceremony.

Since then there have been many different structures. A teagarden gate where there is no teahouse, Skylight (illustrated) freestanding windowed walls without 2009 a purpose, or a structure for drying the Wood, colour obi that just hangs there day after day, H262 x W312 x D312 cm wet or dry.

Obi V 2009 Wood, bamboo, textile H220 x W616 x D320 cm

26 Rita Phillips

Rita Phillips studied at the Slade School of Art in London. From 1999 to 2001 she studied full time at The Frink School of Sculpture where she was made a fellow in 2003, teaching there from 2001 to 2005. Phillips has exhibited widely in the UK as well as receiving private and public commissions.

Phillips is currently running a studio in Harrington in Derbyshire where she teaches and works.

“The Pieta or ‘Madonna and Child’ are holy images which stir elemental emotions. It is a Christian icon which draws part of its strength from its pagan ancestors, and which has inspired some of the world’s greatest artists. The ‘Madonna and Child’ are sometimes grave, even sad. The shadow of death is already on them. The desolating strength of the Pieta, the mother holding the sagging body of her adult son, comes from understanding that a circle, which began with the arm curved around the baby, has been completed – the circle, in any culture, of life itself.”

Tsamaya Sentle (Setwana) (Go Gently with Life) 2002 Jarrah wood H208 x D263 x W65 cm

27 Irene Rogan

Irene Rogan’s sculptures and installations involve long-term research and are concerned with the ways in which architecture serves to reflect or define the human condition. Rogan’s public realm artworks are inspired by nature, often integrated within landscaping or architectural schemes, created using a wide range of materials and methods for either permanent public artworks or temporary exhibitions or events.

“‘Ray’ is an experimental, site-specific work informed by nature and geometry originally made for the event ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’ located in the Scottish landscape. Prior to visiting the site I had no preconceptions of what form the art would take, except the material I took with me, monofilament (fishing line) due to its flexibility. A very short time allowance generated a sense of urgency; an enjoyable, challenging experience that demanded a high level of focus on the task. I took inspiration from a number of sources, for example spiders’ webs. This rapid response produced unexpected results, such as the work becoming an Aeolian harp when the Ray II wind blew through it and being very 2009 responsive to light, both natural and Heavy gauge monofilament and steel hooks manmade.” Site specific

28 Jilly Sutton BA ARBS

Jilly Sutton works mainly as a wood carver in her studio beside the River Dart. Her work is in the National Portrait Gallery and private collections around the world.

For many years she lived in Nigeria and drew enormous inspiration from the various art forms that flourished there, both wood and textiles. She researched and worked with Indigo dye for many years.

The sculptures, often heads, are mainly figurative, but abstraction is also part of the oeuvre. Her most recent exhibition with the Rebbcca Hossack The Fallen Deodar Gallery was an installation of Elms – 2005 dug up with their roots – these Bronze resin verdigris for ordering in bronze doomed trees were decorated with Originally carved from Cedar of Deodar new interpretations of man/tree life. H143 x W150 x D120 cm “Working with the vagaries of the organic nature of timber, my wood carvings never ceases to be a challenge, but the warmth, grain and embodied life of ancient trees are a constant source of wonder and inspiration to me.

The grain, the tactile surface texture and often bleached colouring of my carvings are all important to me. They stem originally from collections of silvery driftwood from the river, the ancient trees around our house, and a love of the presence of wood”.

29 Deborah van der Beek ARBS

Deborah van der Beek studied at Central St. Martins, London, Cambridge and Cardiff (BA Fine Art/Ceramics) in the 1970’s. She worked as illustrator and writer until 1997 when her world overturned at the discovery of sculpture as her true medium.

Drawing from the Bible, Greek legend and modern images and objects, van der Beek links the archaic to contemporary concerns.

“The ‘Fifth Horseman’ of the Apocalypse warns of the terrible changes we are making to our Earth. His obese body is stuffed with indulgent food, his backbone made of dinky cars and his ribcage rubbish, and his hand proffers a dead or dying baby bird.

In ‘The World Gone Pear-Shaped’ this fruit, redolent of womanly fertility, is used to symbolise the Earth and refers back to paintings of an earlier age where fruit stands for the ephemeral nature of life. The pip is our future, so this is more hopeful than the ‘Fifth Horseman’. Pears are often knobbly Fifth Horseman (illustrated) and scarred, suggesting the casting of Bronze, edition of 4 various items into the surface. An H180 (inc. plinth) x D165 x W60 cm equatorial band of dried up mud encircles the belly of the work and it is The World Gone Pear-Shaped studded with dead fish and the 2007 skeleton of a bird.” Bronze, edition of 6 H146 x W110 x D130 cm

30 Sheila Vollmer

Canadian born, Sheila Vollmer has made London her home since 1987 after a post graduate in Sculpture at St Martin's School of Art. In Canada she completed a BA in Visual Art at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, 1985.

Vollmer has received awards and exhibited widely both solo and in group shows around the country and internationally. She has received a number of commissions and her work is represented in public and private collections around the world.

“Starting from a square slinky format the undulating form of ‘Cocoon Line’ is dependent on the set system of joined angles and lengths of the angle. One side of the work is flat as it is made on the ground adding to the different views around the work. The mottled painted yellow inside the angle also adds to the changing views and energy around the work, accentuating the continuous line, drawing the eye inside and softening the hard edges. The form of the work and the nature of the material are interdependent.

Cocoon Line My sculptures or installations are first 2008-09 and foremost about their material and Galvanized and painted steel finding a life and meaning within their H100 x W92cm x D190 cm forms. The work has to be visually and physically exciting, enticing the eye and relating to the body.”

www.sheilavollmer.com

31 Jacek Wankowski

Jacek Wankowski originally trained and worked as a Marine Biologist and draws on this experience in his practice. Since graduating in 2006 from the National Art School, Sydney, Australia, Wankowski has exhibited his sculptures in London and in Sydney. His work is in private collections in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

Inspired by industrial artefacts, mythical and archaeological imagery, and marine animals, much of Wankowski’s work explores abstraction of the internal and external surfaces of living things. As in ‘Skerry’, his steel sculptures play with space and hollow forms, creating tension between their components. The works interact with and respond to the physical parameters of the external environment, capturing the spirit of hard-edged industrial objects even as they describe biomorphic forms.

‘Skerry’ has an almost sentient presence, and the natural patinas of the oxidized corten steel elements, weathered by the sun, wind and water, stand out in striking contrast to the surrounding environment. Skerry 2008 H100 x W230 x D170cm Hot dip galvanised mild steel and oxidised Corten steel

32 Olive Wootton ARBS, ARCA

Olive Wootton studied at Goldsmiths College and at the Royal College of Art where she was tutored by the renowned sculptor . She has exhibited with a number of galleries, societies and groups, as well as giving individual shows in the British Isles and overseas. She lives and works at her studio in rural Northamptonshire.

“In my work as a sculptor I model rather than carve because I need the flexibility of the modelling process. Working on a piece is a journey of exploration travelling from the germ of an idea to the finished work. For my inspiration I draw largely on the natural and animal kingdom and I am gripped by the drama expressed in mythological subject matter.

‘The Albatross About My Neck Was Hung’: This was inspired by Coleridge’s ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’. The albatross is hung about the neck of the mariner by his shipmates as punishment. His shooting the albatross culminates in the death of all on board apart from himself. I have tried to portray his deep grief and remorse for The Albatross About My Neck Was Selene Goddess of the Moon this action. ‘Tree Spirits’: This piece is Hung (illustrated) 2008 inspired by the natural world and is 2008 Aluminium resin edition number 1/6 related to Daphne who was turned Resin edition number 1/6 H170 x W36 x D52 cm into a laurel by her mother but I H153 x W146 x D72 cm believe her spirit remained in the tree. ‘Selene Goddess of the Moon’: I think Tree Spirits of her as a remote and serene beauty. 2007 This piece is cast with a polished Resin on natural wood base edition aluminium finish as the work must be number 1/6 cool to the eye but reflect any light H137 x W100 x D73 cm around it, as the moon reflects the light of the sun.”

33 Marjan Wouda

Marjan Wouda followed a visual arts foundation course at Manchester Polytechnic, followed by a fine art degree course, specialising in sculpture at North East London Polytechnic. In 1987 Wouda returned to Manchester to complete her formal art training with an MA in fine art. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally as well as being commissioned to make sculptures.

“I make sculptures mostly of animals. The underlying theme in all my work, however, is the human experience. Animals are used, like characters in a dream or story, to explore and give expression to it. Nursery rhymes, proverbs and stories all use this same process and I often visit these literary sources to find the right animal to inspire my work.

Sculpture, for me, is a kind of three-dimensional drawing. I make small hand-held pieces in wax or clay to explore the posture and the three dimensionality of the piece. It is important to me that each piece is open ended; that the material is allowed its voice and that each Dog Performing Headstand sculpture is an adventure.” 2000 Bronze edition of 10 H77 x D69 x W42 cm

Left to right: Kate Denton, Paladines of Charlemagne; John W Mills, Reverse Somersaulting and Entry; Deborah van der Beek, Fifth Horseman; John W Mills, Twisting Somersaults and Entry 34 35 Harold Martin Botanic Garden: Sculpture Locations

23 22 24 21 32 30 25 20 31 19 26 27 29 28

18 17 16 15 14 37 38 39 13 33 36 41 42 10 11 35 9 34 40 8 12 7

6 44 45 46

43 5 47 48 49 4 3 2 50 1

1 Jilly Sutton 7 David Begbie 13 Miles Halpin 19 Lynn Chadwick The Fallen Deodar Seangel Skeleton of a Broken Rising Beast 2 Deborah van der Beek 8 Diane Maclean Moon 20 Lynn Chadwick The World Gone Cradle 14 Rita Phillips Duttan’s Beast Pear-Shaped 9 Diane Maclean Tsamaya Sentle 21 Ken Ford 3 Sheila Vollmer Eyeing You 15 Mary Anstee-Parry Musical Landscape Cocoon Line 10 Diane Maclean Making a Bee-Line 22 Ken Ford 4 Michael Dan Archer Sky Trap 16 Mary Anstee-Parry Dante’s Landscape II Untitled 11 Jacek Wankowski Effigy 23 Ken Ford 5 Jon Buck Skerry 17 Rosemary Barnett Tuscan Landscape IV Longdog 12 David Begbie Innocence 24 Ralph Brown 6 Irene Rogan Palm II 18 Marjan Wouda Vernal Figure Ray II Dog Performing Headstand 36 41 John W Mills Reverse Somersaulting and Entry 42 John W Mills Twisting Somersaults and 33 Gudrun Nielsen Entry Skylight 43 Sokari Douglas Camp 34 Gudrun Nielsen Asoebi – Lace Sweat and Obi V Tears 35 Olive Wootton 44 Tom Allan Tree Spirits Eye of the Storm 36 Olive Wootton 45 Tom Allan The Albatross about My Sail Away Neck Was Hung 46 John W Mills 37 Olive Wootton Diver – Entry Selene Goddess of the 47 Polly Ionides 25 Charlotte Mayer 29 John Sydney Carter Moon Terpsichore (Muse of Sea Circle Falling Man 9/11 38 Deborah van der Beek Dance) 26 Ralph Brown 30 John Sydney Carter Fifth Horseman 48 Polly Ionides Clochard Navigator 39 Derek Howarth Wind Dance 27 Christopher Marvell 31 John Sydney Carter Large Siren I – Pivotal 49 Richard Baronio Falling man Great Circle 40 Kate Denton Dragons Tail 28 John Sydney Carter 32 Jon Buck Paladines of 50 Richard Baronio Le Poisson Dove Charlemagne Boutonniere 37 The Richard University of Acknowledgements Attenborough Leicester Botanic Centre Garden

As the University of Leicester’s arts The Botanic Garden and its satellite Many thanks, to all the centre, The RAcentre offers Attenborough Arboretum play an participating artists without whom opportunities for everyone to important role in education. this exhibition would not have participate without barriers in ways Schools, colleges and youth groups been possible. A special thank you that challenge and inspire. are the main audiences for the wide goes to all the University of variety of programmes, and the Leicester staff who have given so A lively place for the arts, education focus is on environmental and generously of their time, expertise and disability, its 180-seater development issues, aiming to bring and knowledge, the management performance area, art studios, a global perspective to the National and production of this sculpture extensive exhibition gallery and bright Curriculum in an innovative and exhibition. foyer space enable people to engage inspiring way. INSET days for with the arts as audiences, performers teachers and youth leaders are also Particular thanks to and learners. organised. In addition, there is a Gail Atkinson, Project Manager, Estates small but developing range of Office It offers an extensive range of creative courses for adults. Contact the learning opportunities in the arts Garden ([email protected]) if Brian Arnold, Gardens Manager and which are ideal for anyone looking to you are interested in booking an the Botanic Garden gardeners develop their skills in an enjoyable way. activity or want to know more. Design Services, Division of Marketing and Communications Its short courses, lasting up to ten This Celebration of British Sculpture weeks, cover a wide variety of will act as a catalyst to inspire groups Dr Richard Gornall and the educational subjects, from painting, drawing and in thinking about how they view the team at the Botanic Garden sculpture, to guitar playing, literature, made object set in a natural The team at the Richard Attenborough singing, jazz and dance, and there is environment. Participants will study Centre also a range of evening talks and one- texture, colour and shape in plants, in off workshops. tandem with the sculptures, and Press & Corporate Communications produce their own artwork; this will be AVS Print Alongside its many learning displayed in the Botanic Garden while opportunities, The RAcentre also the main exhibition is on. Special thanks to presents a varied programme of quality classical music concerts, Dr John Sydney Carter comedy and drama performances, jazz Pangolin and their staff, Jane Buck and and world music sessions, a vibrant art Claude Koenig exhibition programme, and special events for children. Magnus Gestsson, PhD student in the Department of Museum Studies at For more information contact the University of Leicester RAcentre on Leicester 252 2455 Hargrave Design or [email protected] or visit www.le.ac.uk/racentre Neil Bayley Contracting

38 Further information Index

For further information about Tom Allan 6 purchasing the sculptures please Mary Anstee-Parry 7 contact: Michael Dan Archer 8 Stella Couloutbanis Rosemary Barnett 9 Acting Visual Arts Manager The Richard Attenborough Centre Richard Baronio 10 University of Leicester David Begbie 11 Lancaster Road Leicester LE1 7HA Ralph Brown 12 Tel: 0116 252 2455 Jon Buck 13 Email: [email protected] John Sydney Carter 14 Lynn Chadwick 15 Kate Denton 16 Sokari Douglas Camp 17 Ken Ford 18 Miles Halpin 19 Derek Howarth 20 Polly Ionides 21 Diane Maclean 22 Christopher Marvell 23 Charlotte Mayer 24 John W Mills 25 Gudrun Nielsen 26 Rita Phillips 27 Irene Rogan 28 Jilly Sutton 29 Deborah van der Beek 30 Sheila Vollmer 31 Jacek Wankowski 32 Olive Wootton 33 Marjan Wouda 34

39 Rising Beast Lynn Chadwick Welded stainless steel, edition of 6 Photo: J Meigh

© University of Leicester Leicester LE1 7RH UK 1329_0609 www.le.ac.uk