Eric Bainbridge: Steel Sculptures
28.09.2012
Today Eric Bainbridge opens his first solo exhibition in over ten years at Camden Arts Centre. Exhibiting a collection of new sculptural works using steel for the first time, the artist has entered into a renewed dialogue with modernist abstraction. Simultaneously formalist and playful, these works provide an extension to his previous forays in collage. Using scrap metal in a way that arguably pays homage to 20th century Russian Constructivism, Bainbridge continues to celebrate the ordinary and everyday in his most recent work.
Whilst still referencing the process of collage, these sculptural assemblages pair stock and reclaimed steel with found objects like woollen blankets, using colour and texture to counter the harsh angles and industrial quality of the steel works. This is done in a way that appears haphazard and careless, but is in fact highly particular. For Bainbridge, “I now have a series of elements which are new to my practice – heavy imagery and use of colour in opposition to another structure.” This kind of duality and aesthetic tension has defined his oeuvre. Bainbridge likes to exploit the surface and texture of his chosen materials, capitalising on contrasts and unexpectedly complementary qualities.
Generally working with across a variety of media, Bainbridge’s work continues to develop in tandem with the flux of contemporary taste.
Eric Bainbridge: Steel Sculptures is showing at Camden Arts Centre from 28 September 2012 – 2 December 2012
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