Andrew Lacey is an artist, archaeometallurgist and independent scholar who single-handedly creates captivating, timeless bronze sculptures and analytical artworks from his private studio-foundry in rural Devon. His visionary approach and technical veracity ensure his status as one of the most exciting sculptors working in the UK today.
Andrew’s unique approach to making involves a rigorous and constantly evolving investigation of the intrinsic nature of bronze, which has been influenced by ongoing academic, scientific, historic and archaeological study.His fascination with materials, combined with the capacity to cast everything by hand – and therefore to intercept the creative process at any stage– affords him an artistic manner which is spontaneous, experimental and highly focused.
Many years spent intensively researching, analysing and recreating the techniques of the Old Masters has given Andrew a deep, richly-layered expertise which flows throughout his practice. Bold, hand-hewn sculptures in plaster and expertly cast bronzes are synonymous with his output, and each compelling form not only celebrates the natural world which surrounds us but also reveals an ethereal world, created by poetic imagination – dynamically connecting the viewer to both.
Classical mythology, ancient philosophy, verse and folklore also inform the work, and Andrew's sculptures act as tributes to these resonant moments:Equine profiles, mythical creatures, human torsos and out-stretched wings are important, recurring motifs in the studio. However, within each familiar form large areas are often left ‘incomplete’; a daring and distinctly contemporary tactic which allows space for the eye – and, of course, the imagination – to develop the rest.
With a host of publications, unique exhibitions, TV documentaries, lecturing events and creative collaborations,Andrew Lacey is firmly at the centre of a vibrant resurgence of interest in bronze – demonstrating its raw liquid power to spellbound audiences worldwide,and proving it to be an artistic medium like no other.
