Art

#bronze #marble #sculpture

These Veiled Figures of Bronze and Marble by Kevin Francis Gray Seem to Drip with Fabric

September 15, 2014

Christopher Jobson

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Ballerina, 2011. Grey Bardiglio Marble. 190 x 45 x 52cm

Irish sculptor Kevin Francis Gray works primarily with bronze and marble to create idealized figures draped with fabric in the style of Neoclassical or Baroque figurative sculptures. Though, unlike gods or royalty that one might expect to see rendered in such incredible detail, Gray instead creates anonymous depictions of regular individuals he encounters near his studio in London, often people struggling with addiction or other difficult, real-world issues. From an essay about Gray’s work by Rachel Wilf:

The resulting works portray these subjects—often with personal histories marred by contemporary demons such as addiction—with dignity and importance, yet they also express a somber, contemplative quality emphasized by the artist’s consistent shrouding of his subject’s faces.

While some artists now rely on laser cutting or other machines to cut from marble, Gray instead works by hand, from start to finish, chiseling away just like Gian Lorenzo Bernini or Giuseppe Sanmartino might have done in the 17th or 18th century.

Gray studied at the National College of Art & Design in Dublin, the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, and received an MA in Fine Art from Goldsmith College in London. He’s now represented by Pace Gallery where he had his first exhibition with them earlier this year. You can see much more work in his online gallery.

 

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Ballerina, 2011. Grey Bardiglio Marble. 190 x 45 x 52cm

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Ballerina, 2011. Grey Bardiglio Marble. 190 x 45 x 52cm

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Ballerina, 2011. Grey Bardiglio Marble. 190 x 45 x 52cm

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Ballerina Bust, 2012. Black Carrara Marble. 41 x 35 x 35cm

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Temporal Sitter, 2012. High Polished Bronze, Bardigilio Marble. 89.9 x 89.9 x 169.9cm

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Temporal Sitter, 2012. High Polished Bronze, Bardigilio Marble. 89.9 x 89.9 x 169.9cm

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Temporal Sitter, 2012. High Polished Bronze, Bardigilio Marble. 89.9 x 89.9 x 169.9cm

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Temporal Sitter, 2011. Carrara Marble. 94 x 80 x 80 cm

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Temporal Sitter, 2011. Carrara Marble. 94 x 80 x 80 cm

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Temporal Sitter, 2011. Carrara Marble. 94 x 80 x 80 cm

#bronze #marble #sculpture

 

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