BRUCE BEASLEY

Beasley uses digital three-dimensional design software and virtual reality to investigate the sculptural form and aesthetic which he has developed over 60 years as one of the most innovative sculptors on the American West Coast, and his work typically utilises sumptuous patinas, with sculpture that combines notions of beauty, mass and geometry.

Bryan Kneale was born on the Isle of Man and was the first abstract sculptor to be appointed a Royal Academician. He is a highly respected artist, professor and curator and this commission takes inspiration from one of Kneale’s important sculptures of the 60’s at a time when Britain was at the global forefront of avant-garde sculpture making.

One of the UKs most publicly commissioned artists of the post war decades, Geoffrey Clarke’s fearless experimentation with new materials such as aluminium and polystyrene saw him create works that epitomise the vibrancy of the Modern British art scene. This dynamic commission was realised in the last few years of Clarke’s life and was one of his largest aluminium works.

‘Dancer After Degas’ is a theme which Tucker has frequently revisited throughout his career in both his sculpture and drawings. This monumental bronze has been cast for Edinburgh Park by Pangolin and has evolved from a smaller work which he produced in silver in 2002.

William Tucker was born in Cairo in 1935 and he studied sculpture at St Martin’s Schools of Art in 1958-60 under Frank Martin and Anthony Caro. His book ‘The Language of Sculpture’ was first published in 1974 and is based on a lecture series which he gave at University of Leeds setting out a valuable insight into the conceptual, visual and physical language of sculpture.

Tucker’s innovative early sculpture presented abstract forms in painted steel or fibreglass. Typically, his works of the 1960s consist of repeated geometric elements assembled into abstract configurations, with colour used to articulate outline and volume. In 1966 Tucker’s ‘Meru’ series was included in the seminal exhibition Primary Structures at the Jewish Museum in New York and in 1972 Tucker represented Britain at the Venice Biennale.

His sculptural practice often involves directly modelling in slow-setting plaster and then casting into bronze, with abstract forms beginning to suggest the movement of the human figure.

This piece captures abstract figurative elements of dancers in motion and is inspired by Edgar Degas’ famous studies of ballet. For Edinburgh Park, this dynamic sculpture will be enlarged to a monumental 4 metres tall and cast in bronze, encouraging viewers to respond physically to its mass and volume.