My Ceramic Sculptures capture the essence of movement and in so doing spin out essential human emotions, thoughts and perceptions which tantalise the viewer with joyous sense of subliminal understanding, connecting the past and the existential present in a rotating world. They work alone or in groups and indulge in kinetic dialogues and interactions, highlighting the uniqueness of the individual that bring the viewer in to participate in the conversation.
Wanting to develop this expression of movement into a more personal abstraction, I delved into a period of creating spinning globes, trembling ruffles and undulating seaweed shapes in ceramics, which persuaded me to deepen my creativity focus and perfect my technique by applying to do a two year MA at Royal Collect of Art in Ceramic and Glass 2019-22.
My practise reflects my heritage and culture- Italian/American born in Paris and brought up in Chelsea, as well as working as Interior Designer with Architects Dennis Lennon for 11 years. Then a two year diploma in Sculpture that resulted in commissions of heads in bronze over ten years.
Inspired by the Futurists and Umberto Boccione’s abstracted sculpture, ‘Unique Forms of Continuity in Space’ in particular, I focused early on in my artistic training on manipulating hard and often unmalleable materials such as aluminium and eventually clay into shapes of dancers and moving figures. The essence of creating dynamic shapes and forms has inspired me since studying Bernini’s maquettes, so fluid and purposeful and the monumental twisting works of Giambologna. From these early works more recent expressions in sculpture have struck me, such as Barbara Hepworth’s synthesised shapes and forms representing forces of fluidity and tension. I have also been influenced by works of Magdalena Odundo and Ashraf Hanna, contemporary artists that embody abstraction whilst producing seemingly eternal concepts of shape a & design. In my own work I have incorporated elements from past and present art to try to evoke the human psyche.
My early work on bronze commissions of heads of children and dogs concentrated on interweaving more than one head , hand or dog into the symphony of movement and laughter. Long hair sweeps from one side of the sculpture to the other as the young girl’s head quickly turns sideways to look at her twin. Three brothers look at each other turning this way and that; a brother whispers into the ear of his little sister whilst you register the expression on her face, as she listens.
My artistic expression is now more professional, meaning that I am able to express more successfully the synthesis of abstraction whilst trying to capture and concentrate on conveying a sensual and lively tension in my pieces. Defying gravity and pushing out the boundaries is part of my development and the improving technique both in handling different types of clay and the myriad types of glazes is allowing me to break through to forge new boundaries.
I have shown in various galleries in London, outside London and enjoy seeing my work in new locations.
Of course the past continues to inspire the present and breath life into my creativity!