Sculpture will take centre stage at The Harley Gallery, Welbeck, this summer with two leading artists showcasing their work from 18th June to 14th August.
‘Sarah Danays’ Arms of The Portland Vase’ focuses on The Portland Collection’s most famous acquisition, the Portland Vase, widely considered to have been made during the reign of Emperor Augustus. Also on display, Clare Twomey’s 80 giant ceramic vases were ‘Made in China’, barring one which was hand decorated with 22-carat gold at world-renowned fine bone china specialist, Royal Crown Derby. Entry is free to both exhibitions.
Sarah Danays’ Arms of The Portland Vase
The Portland Vase is the finest complete example of Roman cameo glass. The deep blue vessel stands just 25cm high, the outer white surface having been intricately carved away to reveal two compelling scenes. Over 80 different interpretations of the narrative and meaning of these scenes exist. Los Angeles based sculptor and photographer Sarah Danays champions Dr Susan Walker’s theory, that it tells the story of Antony and Cleopatra. By showing the two scenes as one continuous frieze, and isolating the arms of the six human figures, her work explores the gestural interaction between the characters.
In enlarging the architectural frieze of Side A of the Vase by 7 times, Danays discovered that it matched the vertical proportions of The Parthenon frieze. The resulting super-minimal installation of hand-carved stone arms reveals a very contemporary gestural stand-off within the group. Find out more information online: http://bit.ly/1S86wAI
Danays will sculpt with hand tools the last two arms of the installation in Gallery 2 from 25 June – 18 July between 10am and 5pm, 4pm on Sundays.
Made in China
Made in China is an imposing sculpture installation by British artist Clare Twomey, of large-scale glossy red ceramic vases. While 79 of them were decorated with transfers at a factory in Jingdezhen, China, and decorated with transfers, one was hand decorated and manufactured by Royal Crown Derby. Championing British manufacturing, the installation presents the craftsmanship that goes into one vase produced in England – which took the same amount of production time as 79 vases made in China. Using historic artisan skills and hand finished with 22-carat gold, the Royal Crown Derby, British manufactured vase is decorated with one of the company’s oldest and most popular patterns, Avesbury, which has appeared on luxury tableware since 1932.
Clare Twomey said: “The design methods are very similar in many ways, they both use transfer techniques, however the Royal Crown Derby ‘Avesbury’ design is one of their most historic designs and the materials and heritage are the really significant difference. Royal Crown Derby’s fine bone china and 22-carat gold are highly valuable and sort-after, whereas the Chinese vases use transfers that are much less precious and the design is less refined.”
Christopher Oakes, Sales and Marketing Director at Royal Crown Derby added: “We are immensely proud of the fact that Royal Crown Derby is one of the original and remaining few fine bone china manufacturers based in England, whose products are produced solely in our factory in Derby.
“Being part of an exhibition that showcases British manufacturing and craftsmanship preserves our heritage in the era of mass production and can only bring a positive outcome for the company and the industry.”
Twomey first presented the work at the West Norway Museum of Decorative Art for the international exhibition, Thing Tang Trash, back in 2010 and it is now touring internationally. Visitors can walk round the work or in among the pieces, find out more online: http://bit.ly/1YFbsNO
Across the courtyard in the new gallery, the treasures of The Portland Collection remain on display. Since its opening in March Hugh Broughton Architects’ RIBA East Midlands Award winning building has welcomed more than 10,000 visitors. Masterpieces include Michelangelo’s Madonna del Silenzio, on show for the first time in 50 years, The Portland Tiara by Cartier worn by Winifred, Duchess of Portland to the coronation of Edward VII, as well as a replica of the original Portland Vase, made in gold.
For more information on The Harley Gallery visit: www.harleygallery.co.uk
Why not check out:
Art: Old and New Come Together as The Harley Gallery Announces its 2016 Exhibition Programme Welbeck, Nottinghamshire
Art: Clare Twomey steps out of the shadows at Welbeck Half in Shadow: Half in Light: 24 March-17 June 2018
Art: Visitor Numbers are Booming at The Portland Collection
Art: The Harley Gallery Announces 2018 Exhibitions