Frank Taylor
Sculpture in stone, wood and metal. Looking for the unseen within materials while exploring stillness, simplicity and symbolism - creating space for reflection.
Bath exhibition - Walcot Chapel, 10th-15th June. See www.boundlessart.co.uk for details
I work from the unknown, from the inside, taking the material as my starting point and allowing a form to emerge and evolve as naturally as possible. A sense of place often informs my work: it might be the original inspiration for a piece or a specific setting I have in mind for the finished sculpture.
I find standing stones and menhirs fascinating. These are objects that inhabit their own space and whose abstract, unworked forms seem to belong to the landscape as naturally as a mountain or a tree. I also see them, paradoxically, as being evidence of man’s presence in the world and, for me, they connect the earth to the sky and so possess a powerful symbolism.
I use natural materials such as stone and wood and enjoy exploring and working with the solid physicality of their weight, their texture, the way they react to light, and how they weather in the outside elements. I use metal, mainly as a decorative or additional material. I enjoy the way metal can be shaped, formed, melted, cast, deformed and bent.
I often use material that I find or is unwanted or unneeded. Its previous use or location can also be the starting point for a piece.
My inspiration comes often from nature and the open spaces as well as from my own inner space of stillness and silence. I also love the simple solid forms of Brancusi; the simplicity and abstraction of Modigliani paintings; the writings and drawing of Frederick Franck are important to me, along with much Buddhist and mystical thought; the outdoor work of Andy Goldsworthy & Richard Long is very significant and inspiring.
Frank Taylor, © 2008