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After the
runaway success of her 1999 show entitled 'Life Force'
at Bath and North East Somerset Council's Victoria Art
Gallery in 1999, acclaimed sculptor Sophie Ryder is back with a
thought provoking new exhibition of large scale sculptures and
wire drawings.
The new exhibition will be on display
at the Council-run Art Gallery near Pulteney Bridge in Bath from
Saturday 4 April until 10 June 2009. There will also be a Sophie
Ryder trail involving a range of other venues and open spaces,
including Bath Abbey and Abbey Church Yard.
Jon
Benington, Manager of the Victoria Art Gallery, said: "Bath
& North East
Somerset Council is delighted to welcome
Sophie Ryder back with her latest exciting collection of work. The
exhibits include monumental half-human, half-hare figures that the
visitor can touch and interact with by means of pathways cutting
through the middle of the sculpture."
"In her
new work, Ryder is less concerned with narratives involving a cast
of characters. Now the focus is much more on single figures and
their inner states of being – often reflected by the
enclosed or encircling poses that they adopt. These inner states
include sleeping, dreaming, watchfulness, withdrawal and
self-protection. They reflect the artist's concern for recent
events that have had a global impact, such as 9:11 and the ever
present threat from terrorism and environmental disasters."
Also included
are giant wire drawings and sculptures of hands and eyes, isolated
from their anatomical contexts. These pieces stress the humanity
that lies at the core of Ryder's work, even in the 'hybrid'
figures that are half animal and half human.
For over 20
years, Sophie Ryder has consistently found a warm reception for
her work in Bath. She studied at the Royal Academy Schools and is
in great demand at exhibitions and art fairs all over the world.
Many of these works have been monumental in scale and placed in
outdoor settings.
She lives with her husband and two
children in a converted barn in the Cotswolds where she creates
her work in a studio converted from a cow byre.
Jon
Benington added: "The idea of making three-dimensional
sculptures entirely from wire was pioneered by Sophie Ryder. She
begins with a metal armature, which is covered with wire of
different thickness, including bed springs and other pieces
salvaged from skips."
"To shape the wire
she uses her bare hands and pliers, sometimes aided by a hammer.
It is a very physical job and tough on the hands, which inevitably
get filthy and cut to ribbons."
Full
details are available on the website at www.victoriagal.org.uk
or by calling the Victoria Art Gallery on Tel: 01225 477233.
The
Victoria Art Gallery is open Tuesday to Friday 10am-5.30pm,
Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 2pm-5pm. The Gallery is closed on
Monday and admission is free.
ENDS
Attached
Image: Sophie Ryder, Upside Down Kneeling
Notes
to Editors:
Bath & North East Somerset Council's
art gallery houses the area's permanent collection of
British and European art from the 15th century to the present day.
The Gallery has one of the best temporary exhibition programmes in
the region, ranging from prints to sculpture, including national
touring exhibitions and major retrospectives. There are frequent
workshops, holiday activities and a full
For further
information and images contact:
Sue Lucy , Gallery
Administrator on Tel: 01225 477232 or e-mail
sue_lucy@bathnes.gov.uk
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