HOVE PLINTH SCULPTURE COMPETITION 2015
SHORTLISTED ARTISTS
John Atkin FRBS
Henry Moore personally funded Atkin throughout his three-year MA sculpture course at the RCA.
Since graduating he has exhibited and delivered commissions worldwide. Atkins’ output focuses on
references to cultural heritage within the contemporary landscape and his Award Winning 27-ton
sculpture for the Beijing Olympiad remains in Olympic park to this day.
Atkin, who is based in London, has presented keynote papers at conferences worldwide including, The
16th DIAOSU- National Sculpture Magazine of China: Intrigue, uncertainty and humour. Why work in an
Integrated Design Team? Breaking Boundaries Seminar. Loughborough University: Sculpturing
Brilliance, Changchun World Sculpture Conference & Symposium: Sculpture by the Sea Symposium at
the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney.
Atkin’s Public Art research focuses on creating artworks that expand on the heritage and history of a
locale, using imagery and materials that are specific to a particular place: consequentially the
community gain a landmark artwork: a meeting place, and a lasting indelible legacy for the
community and future generations.
David Harber
David Harber creates beguiling interactions between light, reflection and illusion. He combines values
of craftsmanship and ingenuity, striving for intrigue and drama by reshaping and reinventing
materials, techniques and forms. Spontaneity, flair and collaboration are some of the facets that shine
out of David Harber’s artistic personality. His creative approach stems from an ardent determination
to push the boundaries, always questioning and ‘thinking round corners’ – a commonplace phrase in
his Oxfordshire based studio and workshop. Having completed successful projects and commissions
for private, corporate and public body clients the world over, David’s supporting team are not just
highly talented creatives and craftsmen, but also experienced business professionals with exceptional
attention to client service and tight fiscal control. The business supporting David’s artistic work has
grown continually year on year since its inception 21 years ago, with hundreds of hugely satisfied
clients.
Matthew James Davies
I am a 32 years old artist living and working in the beautiful historic University town of Oxford.
I grew up in a creative artistic environment and since I can remember I have always been compelled
to put pen to paper and to explore the aphetics of things.
I went to a public school in Oxford where I obsessed over the art and design classes and showing less
interest in the academic side of learning. From there I went onto college where I continued my
creative learning and honed my skills. I studied at the Arts Institution in Bournemouth where I chose
the most hands on course available to me: Model making.
I started off my working life as a model maker working for the film industry, architectural practices,
for product designers and for museums installations. I now work as a conceptual designer at a
Sculpture studio nested in the Oxfordshire countryside.
Pierre Diamantopoulo MRBS
Pierre lives in Brighton and is a Member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors. He has staged a
wealth of solo and mixed shows in London and throughout the UK, exhibiting at the Royal West of
England Academy on several occasions.
He show-cased in the Twenty-First Century British Sculpture Exhibition for monumental art at the
Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and his work is in private, corporate and international
collections.
Pierre was awarded Arts Council funding for his landmark sculpture "Kandi Sky" in painted steel,
spanning 22 metres, now standing amongst the Northern Gateway Sculptures.
In his spatial compositions, anonymous figures flee and fly in definace, challenged by chaotic shifting
stages - each a febrile balancing act, a response to a sense of unrest.
Pierre also adds dark foolery to a blend of logical nonsense in his more allegorical sculptures.
Pierre collaborates with steel fabricators and bronze foundries.
Suresh Dutt MRBS
Suresh Dutt completed his Master of Philosophy at the Royal College of Art in 2010 and has exhibited
at Christies, Pump House Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum, Preston Manor,
Royal British Society of Sculptors and Canary Wharf in both solo and group shows. He has worked in
Tokyo, New York, Prague, Madrid and Delhi on projects and exhibitions through research and travel
scholarships with Arts Council England, Crafts Council, British Council and Visiting Arts.
His practice investigates concepts of visual perception. He applies and manipulates geometric forms
and grid structures into space and onto surfaces. His main concern is to establish a space where
phenomena can emerge and are experienced, creating an area of ambiguity or active perspective
where multiple interpretations can be sustained. Aspects vanish, distort and reappear according to
the viewpoint. This creates a subliminal tension between stability and impermanence, the static and
the dynamic.
Stephanie Rubin and Jonathan Hogg
Stephanie Rubin lives in Rye, East Sussex. She graduated in 1993 from City and Guilds of London Art
School with a degree in Fine Art Sculpture. When Stephanie first left college she worked in bronze
foundries, honing her skills and rounding her understanding of the lost wax process. Since then she
has worked on large-scale projects for Disneyland Paris, taken up residencies in Barcelona and Japan,
and carried out private commissions for international collectors. Stephanie’s present subject matter
is ‘details that appear as landscapes.’ This fascination has led her to investigate weather data and, in
turn, working with new technologies. Jonathan Hogg graduated in 1994 with a degree in Electronic
and Software Engineering from Glasgow University. He has worked in academic research, in the
finance industry and as CTO of two software companies. In 2009 he began making interactive digital
installation and participatory artworks. He lives and works in London.
Roland Stevenson
"I studied Illustration, graduating from Brighton Polytechnic in 1984. I started my career as a
sculptor working for model making companies in London, making a wide variety of sculptures and
effects for TV commercials.
In 1995, I started working on feature films, making props and sculptures using the skills acquired
from over 10 years of model making. Feature films I have worked on include : Fifth Element,
Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, Blood Diamond, Prometheus and Exodus. Although
based in Brighton, I have worked on films all over the world, becoming one of the leading sculptors in
the British Film Industry.
I have done some private commissions, including the lions adorning the gate posts in Park Crescent
Gardens near the Level. Having lived in Brighton and Hove for the last 34 years, it would be my
crowning achievement to produce a sculpture for my home town. "
Jonathan Wright
"I aim to produce work that shows how ideas and forms change as they move from one part of the
world to another. I combine them in previously unexplored relationships using form to create new
worlds of encounter. I utilise ‘everyday’ structures and objects, often posing as structures of
transmission, exposing their inter-relationship to a contemporary narrative. The objects make
reference to the machinery of the modern city and the interconnectedness of our everyday lives. We
are surrounded by structures whose functions are mysterious, and these structures become invisible
in their ubiquity. When encouraged to look at them afresh, to reverse our perspective, we realise we
can see more and see better. Nothing can be taken for granted and nothing is as it appears to be. "
Jonathan Wright is based in Kent and has recently exhibited in the Folkestone Triennial. He regularly
exhibits nationally and internationally.
April Young
April Young is an established British artist, who’s reputation is most closely associated with the
horse as a main subject. She combines her studies of Literature in Glasgow, with Fine Art in
Loughborough to produce highly crafted, contemporary works which explore social narratives. Her
profile includes commissioned pieces for clients such as Total Oil, Border Fine Arts and Morgan
Stanley, amongst others.
As well as being held in private collections worldwide, her work has high profile gallery
representation throughout the UK, including at major Art Fairs and shows, such as the Royal
Academy, each year.
Young is currently working on an ongoing, Arts Council funded project called 'Gifted' in the East
Midlands. Inspired by her childhood experiences in Brighton, the project has the image of the
Carousel Horse as a central metaphor for the ups and downs, and cyclic motion of life. This process
also extends very effectively to community based projects, allowing groups to share their experiences
and aspirations in a visual way on the surfaces of the large scale pieces, which are illuminated using
light projections.