This months featured artist is sculptor and tutor John Joyce
BIO,
I have been sculpting now for many, many years. Sculpture for me is an all consuming passion, & hopefully that still reflects in the work, both past & present. This portfolio is just a small selection of pieces from a very large body of work, spanning a couple of decades, from 2000-2025.
I've actually been sculpting since my early 20's, so five decades in total to date! I still get the same immense joy when making, & when I am 'in the flow', not so much though when it's not going at all to plan, so many failed attempts down the years, too numerous to mention!
On reflection the work is quite diverse I know, but I make no excuses for that, as it has allowed me the freedom to create that which excites me, & fires my imagination, which crucially, I feel, reflects in the quality of the finished product.
Qualifications: MA (Dist;) in Fine Art Sculpture @ The University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey. 2009 - 2011
BA (Hons:) in Fine Art Sculpture @ The University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey. 2000 – 2005
BTEC in Art & Design @ Brookland's College, Weybridge, Surrey. 1998 - 2000
Pieces in the James Hockey Gallery Collection Farnham.
Exhibiting:
Saatchi Art online
Artparks online
Member of Surrey Sculpture Society
I studied Fine art @ The University for the creative arts, Farnham where I gained a BA & MA, specialising in Fine art sculpture.
Before studying Fine Art I worked for many years as a mechanical engineer where I gained the ‘transferable’ skills necessary i.e. fabrication, welding & construction, which were much more suited to sculpture, allowing me to express my art through this practice more easily than any other.
Today as a contemporary sculptor I work in various mediums, ranging from ceramic, bronze resin & wood, utilising what ever material best suits the project I am producing at any given time, also adopting varying styles, which I feel best suit a particular piece.
My BA work focused predominately on, or under, the general heading of ‘Presence through Absence’ through the depiction & theory surrounding the theme of ‘To live be to leave traces’ as quoted by the German philosopher Walter Benjamin. My MA following on in this vain, concentrating on entropy, more specifically ‘Cultural entropy’ synonymous with ‘Presence through Absence’
My current work however is much more eclectic & diverse, influenced still by my academic studies but incorporating & depicting movement within the pieces, more specifically ‘dynamic tension’, particularly with regard to my figurative work.