Sculpture in the Garden

Wednesday 7 July 2010


The Ponderer by Jilly Sutton


The ninth edition of Leicester’s annual outdoor exhibition of contemporary sculpture, organised by the University of Leicester and held in the Harold Martin Botanic garden, opened to the public at the end of last month.

Stranded Heart by Diane Maclean

63 pieces from more than 40 sculptors have been selected to explore this year’s theme, Heart Head and Hands, explained by curator Dr John Sydney Carter FRBS as “the three main areas in which inner creation works”. Approaches range from figurative to abstract, with materials used including bamboo, limestone, marble and even plastic bags. We’ve photographed our favourite pieces from the show.

Stranded Head by Diane Maclean
Diane Maclean describes her works, Stranded Head and Stranded Heart, as “drawings in space… using linear steel in place of pencil and ink”. Both pieces explore the ideas of isolation and extracting the head and the heart from the emotions of human existence.

detail of Everything Must Go by Claudia Borgna
Claudia Borgna’s floral sculpture Everything Must Go is striking from afar, and only on closer inspection does it become clear that it is entirely made of plastic bags. Likewise, Primordium by Irene Rogan appears to be simply a thicket of bamboo sticks until you enter the sculpture and begin to read all the typed and handwritten note tags attached to each pole. Topics range from thoughtful meditations on love to biblical quotations, via the occasional bad joke (“where are the runner beans?”).

detail of Primordium by Irene Rogan
Jilly Sutton’s cast bronze and limestone faces are inticate and expressive, while John W Mills’ curvaceous somersaulting figures, made of marble, exploit the three-dimensional nature of sculpture to its maximum as you wander round them to see them from every angle.

detail of Column Somersault With Tucks by John W Mills

Sculpture In The Garden runs until 19 September 2010, and entry is free each day apart from 25 July and 5 September.

http://www.le.ac.uk/



Sarah Housley
Interiors