“Although sculpture remains difficult to show, difficult to sell and difficult to own (perhaps the exact reasons why it flourishes so well in the public domain), it seems to me that there is a subtle but growing interest in sculpture and what is sculpture,” says Josh Kanter, a local collector and the subject of an upcoming article in 15 Bytes. This growing interest was evidenced, he says, in the attendance at the International Sculpture Center’s recent London conference – What is Sculpture in the 21st Century?
Kanter, along with fellow Salt Lake Art Center directors Erik Christiansen and James
Roberts, went to London for the conference, April 7 – 9, and for the
presentation of the ISC’s Lifetime Achievement Award to British artists
Phillip King and William Tucker.
Kanter is the current Chairman of the ISC’s board of directors and Christiansen is
a former ISC director. The ISC is the publisher of Sculpture magazine, a
series of books about contemporary sculpture, and its website,
www.sculpture.org. An organization with over 8,000 members, the ISC is
the leading voice for and about contemporary sculpture around the world.
The ISC hosts annual conference programs, organizes a worldwide
competition for students working in the field of contemporary sculpture, and presents its annual Lifetime Achievement
Award to living sculptors who have made a vital contribution to the
world of sculpture. The ISC’s Lifetime Achievement Award is widely
considered the most prestigious award that a living sculptor can receive
within the field of sculpture.
The Salt Lake gang was on hand to hear opening remarks by one of today’s
leading British sculptors, Antony Gormley, and to hear comments about
King and Tucker from the dean of British contemporary sculpture, and
former Lifetime Achievement Award recipient himself – Sir Anthony Caro.
People traveled from around the world to join the ISC for this
International conference and award presentation and our Salt Lake
contingent was excited to hob knob with some of the greatest sculptors
of our time in between visits to the local pubs and museums.
Attendees at the conference included art patrons, arts administrators
and, in addition to Gormley, King, Tucker and Caro, such notable U.S.
sculptors as Jun Kaneko (Omaha), Bill Fitzgibbons (San Antonio), John
Henry (Chattanooga), Richard Hunt (Chicago and 2009 recipient of the
ISC’s Lifetime Achievement Award), Tom Skarff (Chicago) and Carol Feuerman
(New York).
In addition to the conference, Kanter says the growing interest in sculpture can be seen in the number of
participating schools and students, and excitement about, the ISC’s
student award program and exhibition (works from the 2009 Student Award winners can currently be seen in Launch-11, at the
Salt Lake Art Center).
” And completely coincidentally, while in London I was able
to see an exhibition, Decode, at the Victoria & Albert Museum – an
institution primarily known for classic two-dimensional works – which
brought together over 30 artists (including Simon Heijdens who is
working on a commission for the Utah Museum of Natural History) working
in various new media that, I believe, was quite sculptural.”
“Where this all goes is anyone’s guess but if nothing else, it does say
to me that the world of sculpture is alive and well.”
photo: Antony Gormley BLIND LIGHT 2007. Fluorescent light, water, ultrasonic humidifiers, toughened low iron glass, aluminium, 3200 x 9785 x 8565 mm, Commissioned by the Hayward Gallery, London, Installation view, Hayward Gallery, London Photograph by Stephen White, London

UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Categories: Daily Bytes