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The
recent practice of this talanted young sculptor combines his already recognizable
use of glistening stainless steel and earthy basalt rock, with striking forms
capable of complex movement and dynamism. In doing so Elderfield has dispensed
with the traditional form of the sculptural outer shell, instead opting to explore
the intricate workings of internal structures. The visual brunt of Elderfield’s
work lies in the interlacing of architectural, industrial and futuristic forms
found within our modern material reality. Delighting the viewer with a detailed
profundity of forms and textures, assembled together like an elaborate game of
Knex, these sculptures lure our curiosity with their formal play of suggestion
and asymmetry. Elderfield has been selected as a finalist in the Montalto
Sculpture Prize and the Contempora Sculture Prize, winning the award in 2007.
He has undertaken commissions for Kosciusko National Park as well as for a range
of large scale commercial projects. His work is included in the National Australia
Bank Collection and Rodney & Ann Smorgon Collection as well as numerous private
collections throughout Australia. ‘These
works are impeccably designed, though the casual observer, looking at the
frequently repeated horizontals and emphatic verticals, would be quite unaware
of the difficulty in achieving such precision. The incorporation of numerous geometric
shapes, particularly the straight lines, the thin, spiky triangular prisms, the
spheres and the squares, is reminiscent of the work of the great sculptor Arnaldo
Pomodoro. But whereas the Italian allows part of the surfaces of his highly polished
forms to disintegrate, revealing the complex forms hidden within, Elderfield dispenses
with the outer shell entirely and reveals the intricate internal structure.’
Text by Ken Scarlett | |
| | | Cerebral
Vortex,
2009 stainless steel & basalt 98.5 x 38 x 44cm |
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