Friday 5 September 2014

Crucible 2 - Gloucester Cathedral

Lynn Chadwick, Jubilee IV, Bronze
Crucible 2 is at Gloucester Cathedral until 31 October 2014.
It's a tough gig exhibiting modern British sculpture in the glorious Gothic setting of Gloucester Cathedral; however, Gallery Pangolin  (the exhibiting arm of the sculpture foundry, Pangolin Editions, in Chalford, near Stroud) has taken on the challenge for a second time  (the first Crucible exhibition was in 2010) - and it (mostly) works.
100 sculptures by 61 artists are distributed in and around the Cathedral. Fittingly, work by Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003), effectively greets visitors to the Cathedral and exhibition (see above). Chadwick, (whose centenary year this is) not only had strong local connections - he lived at Lypiatt Park, near Stroud - but was instrumental in the origins of Pangolin Editions: Chadwick had a small foundry at Lypiatt Park and in 1981 employed Rungwe Kingdon, fresh from Art School in Cheltenham, to run it. In 1987 Kingdon and his wife Claudia Koenig established a commercial foundry on an industrial estate in Chalford and have since grown an international reputation for casting sculpture. (See Birks, Tony (1998) The Alchemy of Sculpture, Pangolin Editions) 
Chadwick is in the company of an impressive list of names including Anthony Gormley, Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, Henry Moore, David Nash, Eduardo Paolozzi, William Tucker, Gavin Turk and others.
There is a lot to see - some is a bit sentimental, some a little kitsch, but overall it is a pretty impressive display. I haven't seen it all yet but below is a sample (in alphabetical order) from my first visit. See Part 2 for some supplementary images. (Personal favourites, so far: John Hoskin and Sarah Lucas.) Click on images to enlarge.
Anthony Abrahams, Man with Raised Arm, Marble
Bruce Beasley, Breakout II, Bronze
Daniel Chadwick, Constellation 2014, Stainless steel, acrylic sheet, motor and timer
Lynn Chadwick, Sitting Couple on Bench, Stainless steeel
Michael Cooper,  Snail, Bronze
Steve Dilworth, Owl, Oak, horn and enclosed owl
Anthony Gormley, Pose, Cast iron
Damien Hirst, Anatomy of an Angel (Black), (detail), Bronze
John Hoskin, Cantilever Square, Welded steel
Sarah Lucas, Nahuiollin, Bronze
Charles Lutyens, Outraged Christ, Wood
William Tucker, Emperor, Bronze
Gavin Turk, Nomad, Bronze

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