Crucible 2 - Gloucester Cathedral (Part 2)

John Hoskin, Cantilever Square, Welded Steel

Crucible 2 is at Gloucester Cathedral until 31 October 2014.
Some supplementary images to main blog entry here. Click on images to enlarge.

Ralph Brown, Pomona, Bronze

John Buck, Underdog, Bronze and Lead

Ann Christopher, Split Shadow, Plaster

Nigel Hall, Southern Shade III, MDF

Marcus Harvey, Victoria, Bronze

Steve Hurst, Gloucester in Berlin, Bronze, Steel and Wood (detail)

Alistair Mackie,  Untitled (Sphere),  Mouse Skulls, Wood and Glass

Jordi Raga, Thames, Marble

Peter Randall-Page, Maquette for Seed, Bronze

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

The Open West 2012 - Gloucester Cathedral

Emma Critchley, Single Shared Breath, 2011, video installation

The Open West 2012 is currently installed in the glorious setting of Gloucester Cathedral where it is open to view until 31 March.

This, the 4th annual Open West competition, has been selected from an international submission, by organisers Lyn Cluer Coleman and Sarah Goodwin, together with artists Iain Andrews and Dan Chadwick. 90 works by 55 artists are on show. The cathedral is a formidable space in which to show contemporary art - however Lyn and Sarah have exercised great curatorial skill and sensitivity in their installation of the work which is  respectful of the architectural space but not overwhelmed by it.

A selection of works is illustrated below.

Aaron Distler, Between Here and Here, 2010, steam bent hardwood

Tina Hill, Excavating Babel, 2009, installation of over 2,000 books

Catherine Dormer, Shimmer (detail), 2011, digital print on silk

Ione Rucquoi, Ballet Shoe I, 2011, ballet shoe, gold plated acupuncture needles

Angela Conway, For One Removed, I, 2011, emulsion paint on paper, chalk, graphite

Jiho Won, Memory Pond, 2010, glass

Jackie Brough, Continuity, 2011, silk, organza, concrete

Kentaro Yamada, Hackney Sublime, 2011, broken glass window, perspex

Jonathan Wright, No Head for Heights, 2010 plastic, pewter, neon

HENRY/SEATON, Ante-Chamber: 187 Objects (detail), 2011, concrete and plaster

George Petrou, My Brother, 2010, video installation

David Teager-Portman, Other Side, 2010, concrete, canvas, boat, handmade bricks

David Behar Perahia - Gloucester Cathedral

David Behar-Perahia, artist in residence at Gloucester Cathedral, will present an exhibition of his work in the cathedral from 12th to 28th February. The exhibition, Invisible Structura I: Body, Sound, Space and Harmony will be launched by a performance at 6.30 on Saturday 12th February: this will feature a procession in collaboration with composer Edwin Hillier, dancers Katherine Glicks and Ruth Cross, Gloucester Cathedral Stone Masons, members of the Cathedral choir and the artist.

Modern British sculpture in Gloucester

Sarah Lucas, Stanway John, concrete and bronze, 2008

Gloucester Cathedral, in association with Pangolin Editions (the sculpture foundry in Chalford, nr Stroud), is hosting an exhibition of modern British sculpture entitled Crucible. The 76 works on show include sculptures by an impressive list of artists, including, Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley, Marcus Harvey, Lynn Chadwick, Eduardo Paolozzi, Phillip King...

The exhibition runs until 30th October, 2010.

Crucible, has been tagged, in its publicity, as the sculpture exhibition of the decade; while that remains to be judged, the Royal Academy of Arts has announced its forthcoming major survey show, Modern British Sculpture, which may well be the sculpture show of the next decade. It will run from 22nd January – 7th April 2011. More on that story, later.