Kate MccGwire’s anthropomorphic pieces exude a naturally sourced beauty as they writhe and loom in place. Much of her sculptural and installation work uses materials from the animal world, like pheasant and crow feathers, to create something new entirely. The British sculptor uses a dozen verbs to describe what she does: “I gather, collate, re-use, layer, peel, burn, reveal, locate, question, duplicate, play and photograph.”
MccGwire was featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 21. A statement describes how she began to use feathers in her work: “Growing up on the Norfolk Broads her connection with nature and fascination with birds was nurtured from an early age, with avian subjects and materials a recurring theme in her artwork.”
The results are visceral, absorbing entities that feel both kinetic and somehow alien. A recent exhibition, “Secrete,” brought her works to Galerie Huit in Hong Kong. The word has two meanings: concealing and generating. This duality is central to McGwire’s work, continuing to push new life into the world while depending on its existing creatures. And in a similar sense, there’s a wariness inspired by her sculptures and a magnetic quality.
London based sculptor Rachel Kneebone is well known for her complex porcelain pieces that contain writhing groupings of human figures. Her work has been described as depicting an "erotic state of flux" and "celebrating forms of transgression, beauty and seduction," influenced by ancient Greek and Roman myths and also the modern human experience- you can find aspects of change, death, growth, renewal, and lust dissolved together in her individual pieces.
David Cerný Makes Social Commentary with Controversial Public Art