29 August 2017

Drawing Tuesday - sculptures in Regent's Park

The sculptures in Regent's Park are in anticipation of Frieze art fair in October. Some are very large, and some are (imho) predictable and graceless; others are "good in parts", like the curate's rotten egg. However, seeing these interlopers makes you appreciate the sculptural qualities of trees and incidental things like the waste bins and that orange plastic fencing!


My favourite piece is Big Be-Hide by Alicja Kwade - a simple presentation full of complex thoughts, "an invitation to jump into parallel worlds" -
 ... and situated to pick up reflections - this tangle of pink is Fiddlersfortune by John Chamberlain, who has been making metal sculptures from industria detritus in the late 1950s -
 I was immediately struck by Mimmo Paladino's bronze balls, "a combination of geometric harmony ... and an allusion to a legacy of destruction" -
(The quotes are from the Frieze Sculpture app.)

The grass was somewhat wet, which was useful for working with watersoluble crayons - just lay the page on the grass, before, after, or during ...
The big white cube by John Wallbank does look like a monstrosity from a distance but has subtle textile details - I took lots of photos and filled a sketchbook page -
It "engages contrasts of colour and texture, and qualities of rigidity and floppiness"
 Finally, back to the intriguing orange plastic fencing - it held still, but I kept losing my place and gave it up; unnecessary torture ...
 Najlaa drew Jaume Plensa's "Tribute to dom Thierry Ruinart" and Michael Craig-Martin's "Wheelbarrow (Red)" -
 Judith took many views of Miquel Barcelo's "Gran Efefandret", and also Ugo Rondinone's "summer moon" -
 Janet K got a good start on Eduardo Paolozzi's "Vulcan" -
 Sue's subject was Bernar Venet's "17 Acute Unequal Angles", which "explores significant sculptural issues such as equilibrium, control and the relationship with the environment." Venet says his sculptures are a test of strength - "a batttle between myself and the piece of metal" -
 Carol drew Janet drawing, and also Anthony Caro's "Erl King": "though the titl of this work refrs to a mythical forest being, Caro wrests from girders and a sea anchor an almost classical sense of balance and harmony" -
 Extracurricular activities

Janet had spent the past few weeks in Canada, at a cottage on a lake, and produced some "classic Canadian" views -

 Carol's machine embroidery is a view of her garden, and she also tried abstracting the scene -
 Sue had been making birthday cards, including this one for a three-year-old, who was surely tempted to do the "loves me, loves me not" thing with the daisy petals -

1 comment:

irene macwilliam said...

Just love the idea of using the wet grass when using watersoluble crayons.