Event detail
The Brian Mercer Residencies 2010: Immanuel Klein and Briony Marshall
29. Jul - 20. Aug 10 / ended Royal British Society of Sculptors
Immanuel Klein ARBS and Briony Marshall (Bursary 2008)
The Royal British Society of Sculptors is proud to be involved in the organisation of two annual Bronze and Stone residencies in Pietrasanta.
The Brian Mercer Stone Carving Residency at Fondazione Sem enables sculptors to work alongside world renowned crafts people with some of the finest marble in the world for three months. Following the successes of the first two stone carving residencies the opportunity was extended in 2008 to sculptors wishing to develop their skills with bronze under the expert guidance of the artisans of Fonderia Artistica Mariani. Immanuel Klein ARBS for Stone and Briony Marshall (Bursary) for Bronze were identified by the RBS selection panel as sculptors who could seize the opportunity to learn, experiment and extend their boundaries. This exhibition celebrates their discoveries.
These residencies and the resulting exhibition are supported by The Brian Mercer Charitable Trust.
User opinions
4 Opinions where posted
1
This was a fantastic Residency and I am excited to be showing the fruits of it.
by Briony Marshall 24.07.10 16:56
My name is Briony Marshall, and I have just returned from this three month residency in Italy. The residency was focused around learning bronze casting techniques, from working directly in wax, enlarging a maquette using a pantograph, to chasing (the bronze) and patination. I was also immersed in Pietrasanta, which is not only a mecca for stone carving, but is a centre for a wide spectrum of sculpture practice from the very traditional figurative, to cutting edge contemporary work.
Prior to leaving for my residency I had been reading a lot about the science of climate change, and also Jared Diamond's book Collapse about different society's responses to changing environment. In the past in my work I have often used my scientific background to draw parallels between the micro world of molecules and the macro world of human interactions. For my residency application I proposed working on an exciting concept for a sculpture that would use the metaphor of a molecule locking in to the surface of an enzyme to explore man's interaction with the planet.
Through the three months of intense and undisturbed working at the foundry in Italy, and thanks to feedback from a number of artists including mentoring by Helaine Blumenfeld (www.helaineblumenfeld.com) I had a number of revelations about my working process, the role of intuition, balancing staying true to an intention whilst letting the work develop naturally. I enjoyed working directly in wax, learning to draw out natural phenomenon and forms through experimenting with the material. The knowledge that the final sculpture would be in bronze allowed me to create thin complex and precarious structures impossible in other media.
The resulting 3 sculptures are a revelation and a surprise to me. They encompass all the ideas that I wanted to express and yet seem to do so in a far more emotional or even in one case guttural way. I am looking forward to showing them at this exhibition which opens this week and for your feedback.
Regards
Briony
2
Average
by arty79 27.07.10 10:11
i thought it was really interesting
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Residency experience adds vitality to development
by Christy Symington 08.08.10 16:28
The works displayed in this exhibition are an example of how an arts residency can give the valuable gift of time to explore the imagination. Works by Briony Marshall have evolved into actual physical sculptures that encompass the ideas she wants to express both in concept and process! Check out the show. Her blog through her website is also valuable for anyone considering a residency.
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Beautiful work on show
by Tabski 13.08.10 1:23
Subtle and powerful sculptures. Well worth a look!
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