LAST CHANCE TO SEE
Conrad Shawcross: The Steady States
The Walker Art Gallery is giving visitors a last chance to see the latest work of young British sculptor Conrad Shawcross, with a series of free exhibition-inspired events for all the family. The stunning show closes on Sunday 26 February 2006.
In the spirit of the exhibition, Liverpool artist Mike Badger will host a half-term Family Workshop on 20, 21, 22 and 23 February 2006 (1100, 1200, 1400 and 1500 hours). Visitors can create an unusual sculpture from everyday household objects. Tin cans, bottle tops and guitar strings are some of the recycled materials that will be used to make into a mechanical masterpiece.
Mike will be on hand to demonstrate imaginative ways to encompass movement and sound into sculptures by employing simple mechanical devices like pivots, hinges and levers.
The workshops focus upon the notion of expressing scientific theories and concepts via art – a theme that is central to Shawcross’s work. The marriage of art and science is reflected particularly in Shawcross’s Loop System Quintet, a sculpture that consists of four large mechanisms that rotate hypnotically to produce a loop of light and an accompanying sound effect.
Ann Bukantas, curator of fine art at the Walker Art Gallery, says: “Conrad is one of the most exciting and innovative of a new generation of sculptors, so it has been thrilling to show his work within the context of the Walker Art Gallery’s historic sculpture collections. His work is intellectually rigorous and challenging in its inspirations.
“The end result is visually stunning and dramatic, combining light, sound and motion. To create this exhibition we have worked in partnership with the New Art Gallery Walsall, enabling Conrad to make a large body of new work that, together, we can bring to a much wider audience