This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Profile


the exciting world of three-dimensional form using the versatility of clay. But it was a chance invitation to join a group of bronze sculptors at a workshop in Devon that changed my life. ‘I had never sculpted before but many of the


well-established sculptors there saw something different in my approach, and that gave me the confidence to explore my own ideas. When I returned home I could not sleep, as I knew that I had found an exciting new path. Sculpting seemed to be very natural to me and I sculpted day and night.’ Drawing on the qualities that are important to her, Myers started to develop her talent for the outline figures that have now become her signature pieces. Aided by further studies at the Guggenheim in Bilbao, New York and Venice, and the Bauhaus in Berlin, she has been able to express her themes of openness, communication, personal development and the dependency of family and friends upon each other. She says: ‘As in my paintings, the form of my sculpture reflects ideas that are important to me. My “Outline Figures” represent a group of figures in outline form in communication with each other in order to become complete, and as such demonstrates the connection between communication and personal growth. While another series “Together” reflects the movement in personal relationships between male and female as created in abstraction. ‘During the development process I have visited so many people in their own surroundings to discuss their ideas about what is important to them e.g. families, children, parents etc and to


decide what would be most representative and meaningful for them. And it is these ideas that have been translated into my work.’ Although she initially studied ceramics, Myers has continued to use bronze to realise her ideas. ‘I find that bronze is a highly sensitive material that suits these ideas perfectly,’ she says. ‘Te bronze sculpture is affected by light, heat and air, which all create an ever changing appearance, especially within the natural surroundings of an outdoor piece. ‘Warm sunshine will enhance the wonderful


glow of the polished sections and this will change dramatically either when dripping in the rain or covered in a light coating of snow. Tis changing appearance throughout the seasons seems so natural and, for me, it helps each piece of sculpture create its own voice - and I am so often overwhelmed to find a “listener” who understands that language.’ In addition to holding previous exhibitions at the Catto Gallery in Hampstead, the Chelsea Flower Show and at Te Samling Hotel overlooking Lake Windermere, Myers’ 7ft tall “Outline Woman” series is currently being installed at a number of country estates. Her work will also be featured in sculpture gardens at Woburn Abbey and in the south of France, as well as returning to the Chelsea Flower Show for 2013. She concludes: ‘I still have many ambitions to be fulfilled. I have often gone up the steps into the Saatchi Gallery thinking that would be a perfect setting for my “Outline Figures”’.


For more information on Barbara Myers and her collections visit www.barbaramyers.net.


21


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68