Art@Site www.artatsite.com Helaine Blumenfeld Metamorphosis London
Artist:

Helaine Blumenfeld

Title:

Metamorphosis

Year:
2019
Adress:
Canary Wharf
Website:
Show emotions
Curving surfaces depart from each other, bow to each other, move over each other. The eye follows the curve, the bend, the hill, the valley, the chalice, the screen.
One form seems to bow backwards vulnerable. Another object seems to cover protective. I might see a sort of defensive screen between two sculptures. Another shape seems to stand proudly upright taking a position. The smooth surface makes me think of a young and healthy skin.
These plastic forms are abstracted bodies and express feelings. Therein Helaine Blumenfeld is unique. This is diametrically opposed to geometrical shapes which express a concrete object or an abstract though.
By Theo, www.artatsite.com

Vertaling
Toon emoties
Golvende vlakken wijken van elkaar, neigen naar elkaar, bewegen over elkaar. Het oog volgt de ronding, de plooi, de heuvel, het dal, de kelk, het scherm.
E n vorm lijkt zich kwetsbaar achterover te bewegen. Een ander object lijkt beschermend te overdekken. Misschien zie ik een soort afwerend scherm tussen twee plastieken. Nog een andere gestalte lijkt fier rechtop een positie in te nemen. Het gladde oppervlakte doen mij denken aan een jonge en gezonde huid.
In deze plastische vormen zijn lichamen geabstraheerd en worden gevoelens uitgedrukt en. Daarin is Helaine Blumenfeld uniek. Dit staat haaks tegenover geometrische vormen die een concrete object of abstracte gedacht uitdrukken.
Door Theo, www.artatsite.com

www.canarywharf.com:
With Metamorphosis Helaine created many elements contained in a single unit. They exist in a dynamic balance which seems on the verge of giving way to chaos if the parts should separate. The spaces between the forms suggest change and movement, and ultimately, the potential for growth and continuous evolution. Metamorphosis for Helaine is putting forward a message not only of comfort and hope, but the powerful idea that through unity and transformation we can rise up together.

www.amazon.nl:
Blumenfeld's sculpture fuses mind and body in a sensual and sophisticated expression of emotions and ideas.

www.helaineblumenfeld.com:
'In a certain way this is the right moment for this exhibition, she says. I almost named the exhibition Toward the Precipice. In fact, there is a sculpture of that name as you enter the lobby of One Canada Square whose angled planes articulate extraordinary tension, as if arching over a cliff edge. She says: That was really the driving force of this whole exhibition, the feeling that our society is heading towards a precipice. And, in a sense, I feel that s where we are now. For me, the precipice is to do with so many things it has to do with empathy and communication between human beings we have so many opportunities through technology to come together, but we haven t. We can have so many different perspectives, but we re all human, we re all in it together. Suddenly to be plunged into this moment is quite amazing for me. In the end, I didn t call this exhibition Toward the Precipice, because one of my sons said it was too negative. He said: All your work is about looking up, towards the spiritual world. And I realised that Looking Up is a good title, too. This (situation) isn t it: this isn t the whole world. We can look up and see another way of communicating, another way of empathising with each other. I m feeling quite positive about it. In fact, (the exhibition) couldn t have come at a better time. People who have seen the outdoor works have been communicating with me. They have told me this work has given them solace.'

www.sculpturemagazine.art:
'Beginning with the first pieces, I felt a certainty. I knew that this was what I was meant to be doing. My grounding in philosophy continues to inform the concepts and themes that I explore in my work.'
'I learned to mold clay, carve wood and stone, and I even attempted welding. Above all, Zadkine taught me what it means to be an artist. Working in Paris with Zadkine, I began to understand that being a sculptor is a way of life it requires an almost total commitment.'

www.sculpturemagazine.art:
'Every aspect of creativity involves risk. Creating a work of art is a continuous struggle between chaos and order. I begin every new sculpture without any preconceived idea of what I am going to do. I have no inner structure, no drawings. In creating the work, I am creating the very conditions of uncertainty. This self-crisis drives my initial process. There is the risk of not knowing where I will begin, not knowing where the work is going, not knowing if it will ultimately reflect my vision, and then not knowing if my vision will mirror only my subconscious or resonate with viewers.'
'Each time I start a new piece I always begin working directly in clay I tap into a part of myself with which I normally have little contact. The key for me is to almost lose consciousness, to enter a state where I have no sense of time. Initially I achieved this state by listening to music, but gradually, just entering my studio opens up another world. I can work through the night for days even if inspired. Eventually, a form will emerge that expresses what I am feeling. All of my work begins in this way. This is the most important aspect of my creative process my hands are in direct contact with my subconscious. At this point, I go into the next stage, which is to translate the rough model resulting from a state touched by inspiration into a finished sculptural model. I must be able to stand back from the work, judge it, and understand how it can be improved. I have to switch from working emotionally through my subconscious to making a reasoned, intellect-driven appraisal. I am constantly aware of the need for both emotion and reason in my creative process.'
'The work I do in clay contains the energy, the vision, and the emotional landscape that will set the parameters for the completed work. I can create the initial model in a few days. Refining the plaster, casting it in bronze, or carving it in marble can take months, even years. Although my essential process does not vary, my experience will differ from one sculpture to another.'

www.wikipedia.org;
Helaine Blumenfeld (born 1942) is an American sculptor particularly known for her large-scale public sculptures. She creates works primarily in marble and bronze but also in granite and other materials. Examples of her work are in the collections of Clare College, Cambridge, the Courtauld Gallery and the Smithsonian.
Amongst her large-scale public works are Family in granite installed in Henry Reuss Federal Plaza in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Tempesta in marble at The Lancasters, London; and Fortuna in bronze at Canary Wharf, London. A fellow and past vice president of the Royal British Society of Sculptors, Blumenfeld was awarded an Honorary OBE in 2011. She lives in the United Kingdom and works there and in Pietrasanta, in Tuscany in central Italy.www.wikipedia.org:
Helaine Blumenfeld OBE (born, New York 1942) is an American Sculptor working in Britain and Italy, best known as an artist who has pioneered new methods of carving in stone and for her semi-abstract marble, granite and bronze sculptures which are located around the world as Public art. Her forms are often abstractions of human forms and of elements in nature. She is widely recognized as the most significant sculptor of her generation and the heir apparent to Moore and Hepworth.