Fluid expression in twisted wire sculptures

Wire isn’t exactly known for being easy to handle. This poses a constant challenge to sculptors who work with it, amongst them British artist Richard Stainthorp. ‘Wire is an extremely difficult medium to work with’ he states. ‘It is not automatically what one would consider as a “material” for creating solid, three dimensional sculptures. It was the fact that it was so difficult that made it a challenge for me’. But despite the difficulty, Stainthorp’s works capture the energy and fluidity of the forms they depict.

Trees, nudes and angels are the themes with which he introduces us to his world. ‘My work is all about the beauty of the human form. I chose to use more detailed female forms for achieving the “correct from all angles” goal, as replicating a smooth curve and getting it right with a dense mass of wire, from all angles, is almost impossible, but a great challenge’, he says.

Although devoid of all facial expression, their posture transmits emotion. Despite the rigidity of the wire and its apparent inexpressiveness, Stainthorp’s life-size figures reveal all their fluidity through the intricate wire shapes.

Born in Hartlepool, England, Richard grew up with art, as his parents are fine arts teachers and painters. He graduated in Fine Arts with a specialisation in Culture from Wolverhampton University in 1999. Although he mostly works to commission, he has exhibited at a number of galleries in the United Kingdom.