By Sculpture by the Sea - Bondi
Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi
David Černý, Czech Republic
David Černý is a Czech sculptor whose works can be seen in many locations in Prague. His works tend to be controversial. Černý was born in Prague. He gained notoriety in 1991 by painting a Soviet tank pink, to serve as a war memorial in central Prague. As the Monument to Soviet tank crews was still a national cultural monument at that time, his act of civil disobedience was considered hooliganism and he was briefly arrested. Another of Černý's conspicuous contributions to Prague is 'Tower Babies', a series of cast figures of crawling infants attached to Žižkov Television Tower.
Sean Henry, United Kingdom
Born in Woking, England in 1965, Henry graduated from Bristol Polytechnic in 1987. He had his first solo exhibition in London in 1988 and won the Villiers David Prize in 1998, the first sculptor to do so. His work is regularly exhibited by galleries in London, Stockholm, Munich, Brussels and Amsterdam, and can be seen in public collections in the UK, Sweden, Germany and the USA. Henry's public works include Walking Man in London's Holland Park (2000), Man With Potential Selves in the centre of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (2003) and a nine-figure permanent installation at the headquarters of Standard Chartered Bank in the city of London (2008). In 2007 Henry completed Couple - the UK's first permanent offshore sculpture, a critically acclaimed 13 metre high and 20 metre wide painted bronze and steel sculpture located 300 meters off the coast of Northumberland, at Newbiggin Bay. More recent installations include Standing Man in Stockholm city (2010) and Lying Man at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Michigan, USA (2011) In 2011, 20 polychrome sculptures formed 'Conflux' - a solo exhibtion held in and around Salisbury Cathedral that was seen by over 100,000 people during its four month run. The first comprehensive survey of Sean Henry's work and career was published by Scala Publishers in 2008, a 160 page monograph written by Tom Flynn, the London-based art historian.
Greger Ståhlgren, Sweden
Greger Ståhlgren is a Swedish artist and photographer, born in 1966, working with site-specific sculptures and installations in different materials. Man's relationship with nature and especially the forest is a central theme in Ståhlgren’s work. His work revolves around tradition and how history constantly repeats itself. Ståhlgren personally interprets this fact by working with Greek and ancient form elements, thinking that the form elements and what they represent - for example, grandeur, power, freedom and tradition, are words that crop up - is also transferred in the contemporary design and architectural city scape.
Hannah Streefkerk, Sweden
Hannah Streefkerk was born in the Netherlands in 1973. Currently Streefkerk is living and working in Sweden. She received her Master of Art from the Art Academies of Maastricht and Groningen, and she participated in many international exhibitions, symposia and bienales. Streefkerk's work can be described as translated patterns and mended nature. With her work Streefkerk wants to create an awareness for taking better care of our environment. Her work consists of art in nature projects, installations, sculptures and embroidery. In almost all her work textile materials and techniques are used.
Heini Nieminen, Finland
Heini Nieminen studied sculpture in Finland, the Netherlands and Spain. Her work often addresses contemporary environmental and social issues. Even though Nieminen works in a few different fields of art, she always works from a three-dimensional point of view. Nieminen lives and works in Finland. She is a member of two small art collaborations. Elin&Keino is a co-operation between artists Sandra Nyberg and Heini Nieminen that started in 2009, focusing on environmental art, site-specificity and temporality. Her second collaboration is a multidisciplinary group called Filter. It was formed by Nieminen & Jonna Ollikainen. Filter is driven by the challenge to investigate the possibilities of representing both personal and societal, even philosophical questions with an interdisciplinary attitude. Interaction and participation of the viewer are an essential part of the work. Filter’s works have become more and more socially engaged and can be seen as an artistic-sociological research instrument.
Mikala Valeur, Denmark
Mikala Valeur was educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation (1993-98). She has been exhibiting for the last six years including exhibitions at the Esbjerg Art Museum, Helsinge Culture House and the Aarhus Art Expo, and has had several solo shows including at Gallery Vanden Dun and Van Den in the Netherlands this year. “I am influenced by people and situations around me; man's quest for perfection and power; animal and human figures … together to show that we too are animals. To be free like a bird so that you can fly just anywhere you like … to see everything from the top and down. It has to be possible to be a part of a group, and …. respect other views and opinions”. Mikala Valeur
Jörg Plickat, Germany
Jörg Plickat creates sculpture in stone, steel and bronze. He lives in Hamburg and Bredenbek (Schleswig-Holstein), and studies at the Muthesius School in Kiel. The intellectual aspect of Plickat’s sculpture involves the impact of relationships between volume, material, situation and light and shade. His simplified geometrical formal language is comprehensible worldwide, unifying both intimacy and monumentality. This can been seen in the 25 tonne work made from Chinese marble, which was chosen, after a two-year selection process, for presentation in Beijing’s Olympic Park where the 2008 Summer Olympics were held. “The theme of this work is a balance of two stereometric bodies composed in a dynamic constellation”. Jörg Plickat
Manuel Ferreiro Badia, Spain
Manuel Ferreiro Badia was born in La Coruña, Spain, in 1944. His work encompasses the different spheres of artistic creation including sculpture, painting, medal making, ceramics, design and installations for civil engineering. Ferreiro Badia is best known for his sculpture and metal work,which has won him numerous awards and prizes, including the Tomás Francisco Prieto Prize from the Spanish Royal Mint and an Honourable Mention from the 4th International Biennial of Contemporary Medals held in Portugal. He is a member of the International Art Medal Federation and the British Art Medal Society. His public works also play an important role in his career and include the monuments to Simón Bolívar, Castelao, PabloIglesias, Torrente Ballester and Cela. Ferreiro Badia has held around 80 solo exhibitions and group exhibitions, both in Spain and abroad. “Anthropomorphic Study is a composition of anthropomorphic forms, generated from an altered reality and can be framed within a current of magic realism”. Manuel Ferreiro Badia
SxS Cultural Institute Online Producer:
Eleanor Cheetham
Photographers:
Clyde Yee
Gareth Carr
Pauly Vella
To find out about upcoming exhibitions:
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