Press Release for Svar Simpson at Cyberia
"Recent Work" May 6th - June 23rd 1996 at Cyberia, Whitfield Street by Svar Simpson The processes of sculpture are likened to ritual and alchemy by artist Svar Simpson, and the end results are enchanting. Svar's sculptures are inspired by cultures that revere objects for their transformative power, as well as their beauty and the skill with which they are crafted. Many of her works allude to animal and human dieties. 'Cat Yogi' is a sensual, anthropormophic personality which embodies the animal feted by the ancient Pharoahs for its magical powers and the bare-chested androgen beholding all in buddha-like meditation. 'Naja', a large coiled serpent, "the reconcilor of opposites", trancends its ancestors. Erect and proud, it's form conveys a flourish of sensuality and power, both foreign and familiar. Svar studied at the Chelsea and Central Schools of Art, and is a versatile exponent of sculptural techniques, equally at ease with wood, plaster, bronze or perspex. Her works are to be found in private collections all over the world .She has exhibited at venues as varied as the Royal Academy of Arts to Islington Green where her painted perspex hearts adorned the trees in the park for her public commission 'Tree of Hearts'. Her latest piece, shown for the first time in Cyberia, plays with light and colour, a painted perspex collage hangs glistening. Also on show will be recent two-dimensional collages on paper which use media images of nebulae and other cosmic phenomina as a starting point for striiking drawings in inks. Despite this versatility and experimentation with new media, a constant theme runs through her output, as Svar herself explains: "My work has prevoiusly been mainly figarative, now it' tends more towards abstract forms. At times the art is driven by an almost child-like vital energy, at others by a deeper more spiritual force. My main motivation is a desire to materialise the invisible aspects of human experience." Lateral Arts is pleased to be promoting Svar Simpson who lives and works in East London, as part of their own initiative to bring more British artists to attention through the Internet. Rhian Beynon.