14. Billy Childish
Aurochs, 2014
Perspex cube, bronze. Formed by the artist, cast in the fires of Clerkenwell, and hand finished at the L-13 Light Industrial Workshop.
20x20x20cm
Edition 20/31
Copyright The Artist
Sold
b. 1959, UK; lives and works in Rochester/Chatham, Kent 1978 Saint Martin’s School of Art 1977 Medway College of Design, Kent Since 1977 Billy Childish has released over 150 independent...
b. 1959, UK; lives and works in Rochester/Chatham, Kent
1978 Saint Martin’s School of Art
1977 Medway College of Design, Kent
Since 1977 Billy Childish has released over 150 independent LP’s, published 5 novels and over 45 collections of poetry, but his main job is painting. Working from Chatham Historic Dockyards, his work has been enjoying a recent reevaluation and he has been described by Peter Doig as “one of the most outstanding, and often misunderstood figures in the British art scene”.
For Cure3, the artist has kindly donated Aurochs, part of an edition of just 31 copies, this is the first ever solid bronze sculpture of an aurochs made by William Hamper (aka Billy Childish). The piece is an example of the artist’s fascination with extinct animals, such as prehistoric horses. Childish follows the Fauvist tradition of sculpting in bronze but the practice is here incorporated into an artwork with ritualistic and environmental connotations: the aurochs, which became extinct in Britain during the Bronze Age, was connected to nature worship. The Perspex cube appears to showcase the sculpture, as a prehistoric artefact would be displayed in a museum. Childish thus combines ancient and modern traditions of art, creating a timeless piece for the exhibition.
www.carlfreedman.com
www.l-13.org
Portrait Billy Childish
1978 Saint Martin’s School of Art
1977 Medway College of Design, Kent
Since 1977 Billy Childish has released over 150 independent LP’s, published 5 novels and over 45 collections of poetry, but his main job is painting. Working from Chatham Historic Dockyards, his work has been enjoying a recent reevaluation and he has been described by Peter Doig as “one of the most outstanding, and often misunderstood figures in the British art scene”.
For Cure3, the artist has kindly donated Aurochs, part of an edition of just 31 copies, this is the first ever solid bronze sculpture of an aurochs made by William Hamper (aka Billy Childish). The piece is an example of the artist’s fascination with extinct animals, such as prehistoric horses. Childish follows the Fauvist tradition of sculpting in bronze but the practice is here incorporated into an artwork with ritualistic and environmental connotations: the aurochs, which became extinct in Britain during the Bronze Age, was connected to nature worship. The Perspex cube appears to showcase the sculpture, as a prehistoric artefact would be displayed in a museum. Childish thus combines ancient and modern traditions of art, creating a timeless piece for the exhibition.
www.carlfreedman.com
www.l-13.org
Portrait Billy Childish