Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

Kevin Francis Gray’s Malformed Figurative Sculptures

Kevin Francis Gray’s malformed and surreal figures, rendered in varieties of marble and fiberglass, exhibit both a more honest, visceral reflection of humankind in their incompleteness. The Ireland-born, London-based sculptor creates work that in its seemingly soft form, defies its stubborn material. Shown both against interior and exterior backdrops, that quality plays with its surrounding environment.

Kevin Francis Gray’s malformed and surreal figures, rendered in varieties of marble and fiberglass, exhibit both a more honest, visceral reflection of humankind in their incompleteness. The Ireland-born, London-based sculptor creates work that in its seemingly soft form, defies its stubborn material. Shown both against interior and exterior backdrops, that quality plays with its surrounding environment.

“The striking quality of these works lies in the tension between aggressive movement imposed on the material and the confidence emanating from the figures,” a statement says. “Gray’s youth, spent in a politically turbulent Northern Ireland informs the intensity of the movement—forceful, expressive gestures; thick gouges at the eyes; and claw marks in the spines of the nudes. The male and female figures that come out of this vigor emerge stronger than before, and stronger than Gray’s earlier introspective sculptures.”

See more work from the artist below.

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
South African artist Mary Sibande explores race, history, gender, and other social themes, her visceral mixed-media figures constructed from fiberglass, cotton, resin, and other materials. She uses a sculptural representation of herself, Sophie, to also look at her own family’s generational narrative. Her practice also includes photography, integrating the themes of her sculptures and installations.
We are what we eat- are we also what we play with? Australian artist Freya Jobbins asks questions about modern consumerism with her strange portraits made of doll parts. Her surrealist imagination has come up with busts of pop culture icons like Batman, Bart Simpson, and self portaits made of discarded Barbie legs. Jobbins' abstract way of seeing others is highly influenced by Italian Mannerist painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo. He famously painted images of gods and Roman emperors made up of objects like vegetables, fruits, and flowers. While very amusing, there's an incredible amount of detail and thought that goes into Jobbins' pieces.
Bangkok-born artist Rook Floro mixes installation, sculpture, performance art, and other approaches for a singular, visceral experience. A statement says that he “draws from contention in his own life, which he likes to visualize in different series of artwork.” Recently, his “Blastard” experiences express a particularly vibrant and personal version of the artist.
Jason deCaires Taylor has spent more than a decade crafting underwater sculptures that create living reefs, improving the surrounding ecosystem at a time when 40 percent of coral reefs have disappeared over the past decades. His recent pieces including 48 life-sized figures in Indonesian waters and a recently installed an initial phase of his underwater art museum, The Coralarium. Taylor last appeared on HiFructose.com here.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List