‘Figure it out’ Pam Foley Students Exhibition

Submitted by charlieh on February 24, 2017 - 21:01

Venue, Timing and Cost

Venue: 
Turrill Sculpture Garden, Summertown Library
Date(s): 
Monday, 6 March 2017 to Saturday, 29 April 2017
Timing: 
Opening Hours: Monday 09.30-17.30 Tuesday 09.30-19.00 Wednesday closed Thursday 09.30-19.00 Friday 09.30-17.30 Saturday 09.00-16.30 Sunday closed
Cost: 
Free

Figure it Out

Some would have us believe that the art of using the human form as a subject for artistic interpretation is dead. We beg to differ.

Students at the Sunningwell School of Art, under the tutelage of sculptor Pam Foley, have continued this tradition. In the west, our image of the ‘Ideal Man’ originates in ancient Greece. When Renaissance artists rediscovered Greek art, they studied its perfectly proportioned sculptures of well-muscled torsos, the symmetry of the male form. We can say the same about the shape of women. It could be argued that today’s young people sweating in the gym strive to acquire a similar ideal physique.

What is the ‘ideal’ human form today? Is every human form equally ideal? Can a static sculpture convey noble sentiments? If so, what are they? These are some of the questions students ask themselves as they work. As you regard the sculptures in this garden setting, we invite you to ask yourselves these questions.

The students, some of them retired professionals, are at various stages of proficiency. This is their first group exhibition and it reveals not only the progress of these artists but also the multiple styles and interpretations of the human form. Today, their intentions for making sculpture may not be to convey an Ideal Form, but instead, to work with life models in a more collaborative mode. We look to the modernist sculptor, Rodin, for guidance when he said that a life model creates a “correlative inspiration” for use to express a “sentiment, thought or experience”. This puts the sculptor’s aims at the fore.

The exhibition will run from Saturday 4th March – Saturday 29th April 2017
Through Summertown Library South Parade, Oxford, OX2 7JN.

Further Information

Contact Details: 
Exhibition
Crafts and Applied Arts
Outdoor Arts
Visual Arts