MICHAEL PHELPS
FINA AWARD
How does Kent inspire your work?
I have made my home in Kent, and as an artist I
have worked in barns on two farms in the county,
seeing the changing seasons more closely than before.
In 2010, I began a year-long project of creating a
small sculpture a day based on aspects of nature.
Each piece was assembled onto a larger form and
the final sculpture titled 365. The reference for this
was predominantly collected during long walks
around Kent. Although this sculpture is quite different
to my current work, it embedded in my mind the
idea of looking to nature and adding its features to
sculpted forms.
illustrator Arthur Rackham, who is known for his
ethereal pen and ink paintings of children’s fairy
tales. In sculpture, from the past I enjoy the work of
Rodin and Giacometti and in the present, that of
Philip Jackson and US sculptor Richard MacDonald.
What are you working on at the moment?
I have been concentrating on two sculptures
concurrently that are based on sunrise and sunset.
The female figures are covered in circles, with those
on Sunrise getting larger as they go up and on Sunset
larger as they go down. Sunrise is a standing figure
taking in the morning with a stretch while Sunset is
a crouching, reflective figure.
Do you have any artistic heroes?
Where can we see your work?
I've had to write two theses during further education
and I based these on the great painter J.M.W. Turner,
whose work I love to this day. Same with the
The Linda Blackstone Gallery shows my work at
the Affordable Art Fairs (AAF) nationally and
internationally. The first AAF show for me in this
country will be at Hampstead on 9th-12th May,
and later at Battersea from 22nd-24th. I aim to
show at RHS Wisley again this year as part of the
Surrey Sculpture Society annual event as well as
The Savill Gardens. My professional art practice
has been supported over the last five years by PURE
Arts Group, with whom I will be exhibiting in Battle
in October.
www.jonathanhateley.com
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