In response to the Permanent Collection of maquettes at CASS Sculpture Foundation, artists Gabriel Hartley and Sean Steadman have been invited to curate an exhibition. Looking through the collection, the artists were drawn to its inherent latent energy and inspired by its potential to generate a network of ideas and far-reaching associations.
With this as a focus the artists decided to go back to the studio and think through the process of making. They produced works that embody this feeling of immediacy, invention and intimacy. Steadman's wooden structure and Hartley's platforms seek to apply the open aspect of making in the studio and carry this into the practice of curating and exhibition making. They wanted collisions to happen in the presentation of works, as they do in conversation. A selection of objects from the CASS Permanent Collection are shown in conjunction with Hartley and Steadman's own work, and the work of their peers and influencers. The exhibition comprises sculpture, painting, drawing, photography and artists' postcards dating back to the middle of the 20th century.
Artists featured in The Sleeping Procession: Matt Ager, Rebecca Ackroyd, Marijke Appelman, Alvaro Barrington, Sarah Braman, Stewart Cliff, Ann Christopher RA, Karen di Franco, Kira Freije, Cristina Garrido, Peter Hide, Gabriel Hartley, Sebastian Jefford, Philip King RA, Hannah Lees, Eddie Martinez, Eilis O'Connell RA, Michael Page, Eduardo Paolozzi RA, Peter Peri, Peter Laszlo Peri, Jill Posener, Dieter Roth, Michael Sandle RA, Alex Scarfe, Lindsay Seers, Frederick Sommer, Sean Steadman and Bill Woodrow RA.
The exhibition will offer an exceptional insight into the work of CASS Sculpture Foundation, its historic archive and special collection. The maquettes, usually only viewable by appointment, illustrate a key stage in the process of commissioning large scale sculpture, in which abstract ideas are first materialised into physical form. These small-scale sculptures allow the artist to work through technical and aesthetic issues, experiment with materials, and make adjustments to scale and structure. Today the process of fabricating a maquette is often overlooked due to the developments in technology. The possibility to interrogate this traditional sculptural system is a unique and exciting opportunity for contemporary artists.
The Sleeping Procession has been made possible thanks to support from Arts Council England.
Cass Sculpture Foundation
New Barn Hill, Goodwood
West Sussex
PO18 0QP
United Kingdom