Preview: RWA Open Sculpture Exhibition

Showing at the Royal West of England Academy until June 2, the RWA Sculpture Open Exhibition is a varied showcase of work by some of the most exciting sculptors from across the country and beyond, and celebrates contemporary sculptural practice in all its many diverse forms.

The Sculpture Open is part of a season of sculpture at the RWA, alongside an interactive Sculpture Lab and a companion exhibition, Gaudier-Brzeska: Disputing the Earth, all included within the same ticket price.

Here’s the RWA’s marketing manager Clare Lowe to introduce the show.

From bronze casting to 3D printing, stone carving to found objects, sculpture is arguably the most diverse of artistic mediums, allowing unrivalled freedom in materials, process, form and scale. Crossing boundaries between architecture, design, manufacturing and craft sculpture is a constantly evolving art form that pervades our lives like no other – from public monuments to the coins we carry in our pockets, sculpture is all around us.”

The very nature of an open exhibition means you will get a fantastic, varied collection of artist submissions. As well as this however, we have a new, three-metre-tall work by Royal Academician Ann Christopher which will lean against the gallery wall, appearing to ‘prop it up’ and stretching up towards the roof. We also have two framed feather quills and leather works by Kate MccGwire, exploring the pull between the natural and the man-made, which are sure to be a visitor favourite.

We are also so excited to have our invited artist Ana Maria Pacheco exhibiting alongside the works. We have worked with Ana and her gallery, Pratt Contemporary, before and we knew her work would be impactful and dramatic in our side galleries. Ana’s work has sinister overtones and its comment on Brazilian colonialism is still reverberating globally today.

Ana’s work is evolved from a tradition of making which lies between South American and European culture, between ancient magic and twentieth century art. The piece we are very excited to have as part of our exhibition is called Memória Roubada I. A cabinet contains six disembodied heads (not severed, as there is no trace of a neck and the eyes are alive) that focus in a range of emotions on the pierced heart before them. Images of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, which gained currency in the Counter Reformation, show seven swords, each representing a sorrow that pierces Mary’s heart. Here swords are replaced by daggers with all their connotations of violent betrayal.

Ana Maria Pacheco, ‘Memória Roubada I’ (2001: polychrome wood, onyx, gold leaf, acrylic, nails, slate base).
This and top pic © Lisa Whiting

The cabinet recalls the Portuguese oratório, a domestic devotional altar containing items associated with a saint, sometimes with prayers inscribed. On the doors of this oratório is a quotation from a contemporary Brazilian poem (by José Lobo) describing the fate of the victims of colonisation robbed of their memory: Olhos vazados / Sexos castrados / Chumbo nos ouvidos / Mãos arrancadas (“Eyes poked out / Genitals cut off / Shot in the ears / Hands severed”).

Another view of Ana Maria Pacheco’s ‘Memória Roubada I’.  All Rights Reserved 2019 / Bridgeman Images. Repro courtesy of Pratt Contemporary

The exhibition is a celebration of contemporary sculpture. Therefore, the judges were looking for the best of the artform at the moment. Submissions for this exhibition were invited from artists who either sculpt, or explore the concept of sculpture in their work. Artists of all ages and experience were welcome to submit. The judges were looking for playful, innovative use of materials (from traditional bronzes and wood carvings to glass, concrete and textiles), skill and craftsmanship, a broad span of styles and scales, artists incorporating or utilising technology and how the works sit within a current political and social context.

Criteria for selection into a show like this are very different to those for a 2D show. Selectors must think about how the works will be viewed from 360 degrees, how they will be present in the space and the strength of each work both individually and when placed amongst other selected works.

A 3D show definitely presents its own challenges in terms of how the objects are placed. From a practical point of view, we have to think about access around the galleries for any disabled visitors and also any potential hazards that sculptures might pose to visitors. It’s also a lot of build work for our technicians – two weeks of building plinths and floating shelves specifically for each selected sculpture. From a placing point of view, it’s of course necessary to utilise both floor and wall space, particularly in our large, open galleries. We have to think about how the eye travels around the space, and about using the height of the galleries too.

RWA Sculpture Open March 16-June 2, Tue-Sat 10am-5.30pm / Sun 11am-5pm, £7.95/£6.75 concs/u18s and NUS free. Admission price includes entry to companion exhibition Gaudier-Brzeska: Disputing the Earth. For more info, visit shop.rwa.org.uk/collections/events/products/rwa-sculpture-open-exhibition

The Sculpture Open is sponsored by Fresh Art Fair

Read more: Preview: Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed, M Shed