Celebrated sculptor Bridget McCrum’s 5th solo exhibition with Messum’s continues at Messum’s 8 Cork Street until 2nd August and includes 50 of her most recent sculptures, paintings and works on paper.
This year marks McCrum's 80th birthday, and she will also be exhibiting her work later this autumn in a curated show at Canary Wharf. Exhibition curator Ann Elliot writes: ‘Bridget’s figures, animal and bird sculptures were economically carved, capturing the essential characteristics of their nature or habit. A subject may appear to be soft, although the profile would be sharp as her sense of curve and rhythm – still her hallmarks – tell of form as well as the incongruity to be found in birds or beasts.’
""I am primarily a stone- carver but work in plaster for many bronze pieces. Since childhood I have been excited by ancient remains, fragments of carving and standing stones in lonely landscapes. My travels have taken me to many sites from different cultures around the Mediterranean, and the chance to work on archaeological surveys in Somalia during the early eighties increased my interest in small objects from the past. The landscape around my two homes has inevitably worked itself into my head. The gentle curves of the hills of South Devon and the stark limestone cliffs carved by wind and sea on Gozo, have all subconsciously influenced my carving. I look down on birds circling and gliding above their prey from my home high above the Dart estuary. They make marvellously abstracted subjects and I have carved them ever since I have been here. Some have been cast into bronze which I patinate myself". - Bridget McCrum
Messum’s exhibition is supported by a fully illustrated catalogue (£15, plus postage) and available works are priced between £2,450 and £68,500.