Conrad Shawcross
Encyclopedia
Conrad Shawcross is a British
artist, the son of the writers William Shawcross
and Marina Warner. He specialises in wooden mechanical sculptures based on philosophical and scientific ideas.
Shawcross received his education at Westminster School
, the Chelsea School of Art, The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art (University of Oxford)
, and the Slade School of Art, University College London
.
He was then included in 2001’s New Contemporaries. He designs and builds machines with the intention of exploring the laws of science, and demonstrating the abstract nature of scientific thought in a practical manifestation. Shawcross gets help from scientists to research and develop his machines.
Shawcross' work came to prominence at the 2004 New Blood exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery
at County Hall, London
. He exhibited The Nervous System, a large, symmetrical, working loom producing over 20,000 metres of double-helix coloured rope every week.
Recent installations in 2009-2010 include a horizontal rope machine in the Holborn Tunnel, and a vast 60 foot high vertical version, Nervous System (Inverted)in the Sculpture Gallery, 590 Madison Avenue, New York. A 14 metre long spiral, cast in aluminium, was unveiled in the Sadler Building at the Science Park, Oxford.
In December 2004, Shawcross' commission Continuum opened at the National Maritime Museum
, Greenwich
, an installation on time and maritime themes made specifically to match the history and architecture of the venue (the Queen’s House, England’s first fully Classical
building ). Works included the title work Continuum, a large torus
of twelve loops, a conceptual model of the day that also echoed the radial geometry of the Inigo Jones
floor; Pre-retroscope II and Pre-retroscope III, based on two sea voyages Shawcross undertook off Cornwall in self-constructed wooden kayak
s; and The Winnowing Oar
, a sculpture based on a motif in the Odyssey
.
Several exhibits are currently in the Turner Contemporary in Margate.
In 2008, he was nominated and awarded the first prestigious "International Fellowship" award at Location One, a non-profit art gallery in the SoHo arts district of New York City where his exhibition "Control" was on display from 20 May - 31 July 2009.
Credits include his inclusion among The Observers 2004 list of 80 most talented young people, the First Base Acava Free Studio Award and the Ray Finnis Charitable Trust Award in 2001. He is represented by the Victoria Miro Gallery
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artist, the son of the writers William Shawcross
William Shawcross
William Hartley Hume Shawcross, CVO is a British writer and commentator.-Career:Shawcross was educated at St. Aubyns Preparatory School, Rottingdean, Eton College and University College, Oxford. He attended St. Martin's Art School to study sculpture after leaving Oxford. He worked as a journalist...
and Marina Warner. He specialises in wooden mechanical sculptures based on philosophical and scientific ideas.
Life and work
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, the Chelsea School of Art, The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art (University of Oxford)
The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art
The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, known as The Ruskin, is an art school and research institute at the University of Oxford.Working collaboratively across two sites, the school provides undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in the study and production of visual art...
, and the Slade School of Art, University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
He was then included in 2001’s New Contemporaries. He designs and builds machines with the intention of exploring the laws of science, and demonstrating the abstract nature of scientific thought in a practical manifestation. Shawcross gets help from scientists to research and develop his machines.
Shawcross' work came to prominence at the 2004 New Blood exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery
Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art, opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985 in order to exhibit his collection to the public. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames and currently in Chelsea. Saatchi's collection, and...
at County Hall, London
County Hall, London
County Hall is a building in Lambeth, London, which was the headquarters of London County Council and later the Greater London Council . The building is on the bank of the River Thames, just north of Westminster Bridge, facing west toward the City of Westminster, and close to the Palace of...
. He exhibited The Nervous System, a large, symmetrical, working loom producing over 20,000 metres of double-helix coloured rope every week.
Recent installations in 2009-2010 include a horizontal rope machine in the Holborn Tunnel, and a vast 60 foot high vertical version, Nervous System (Inverted)in the Sculpture Gallery, 590 Madison Avenue, New York. A 14 metre long spiral, cast in aluminium, was unveiled in the Sadler Building at the Science Park, Oxford.
In December 2004, Shawcross' commission Continuum opened at the National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
, Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, an installation on time and maritime themes made specifically to match the history and architecture of the venue (the Queen’s House, England’s first fully Classical
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
building ). Works included the title work Continuum, a large torus
Torus
In geometry, a torus is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle...
of twelve loops, a conceptual model of the day that also echoed the radial geometry of the Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
floor; Pre-retroscope II and Pre-retroscope III, based on two sea voyages Shawcross undertook off Cornwall in self-constructed wooden kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
s; and The Winnowing Oar
Winnowing Oar
The Winnowing Oar is an object that appears in Books XI and XXIII of Homer's Odyssey. In the epic, Odysseus is instructed by Tiresias to take an oar from his ship and to walk inland until he finds a "land that knows nothing of the sea", where the oar would be mistaken for a winnowing fan...
, a sculpture based on a motif in the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
.
Several exhibits are currently in the Turner Contemporary in Margate.
In 2008, he was nominated and awarded the first prestigious "International Fellowship" award at Location One, a non-profit art gallery in the SoHo arts district of New York City where his exhibition "Control" was on display from 20 May - 31 July 2009.
Credits include his inclusion among The Observers 2004 list of 80 most talented young people, the First Base Acava Free Studio Award and the Ray Finnis Charitable Trust Award in 2001. He is represented by the Victoria Miro Gallery
Victoria Miro Gallery
The Victoria Miro Gallery is a leading British contemporary art gallery in London, with an international reputation, run by Victoria Miro, one of the "grandes dames of the Britart scene", who first exhibited Chris Ofili and the Chapman Brothers...
.
External links
- New Contemporaries, New Contemporaries 2001
- Interview, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
- Conrad Shawcross, Victoria Miro Gallery
- Saatchi Gallery