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Sculptor Paddy Campbell celebrates his 70th year with a host of solo exhibitions. Beginning with Gormleys Fine Art Gallery in Dublin in June 2012 and in Belfast in August 2012
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Solo70
sculptures by | sculture diPaddy Campbell
© 2012 Paddy Campbell
Galleries:
Gormley’s Fine Art Dublin / Belfast www.gomleys.ie
Petley’s Fine Art London www.petleys.co.uk
Galleria Spagnoli Firenze www.galleriaspagnoli.org
Artistic bronze casting:
Cast Bronze Foundry, Dublin www.cast.ie
Artù di Gaetano Salmista, Firenze www.artusculture.com
Photography:
Florence Alessandro Moggi www.alessandromoggi.com
Dublin Eugene Langan www.eugenelangan.com
Ronan Lang
Printing and Design:
Romana Rocchino
Edoardo Casini
Leonardo Nassini
IGVwww.igvonline.it
Texts and editing:
Amanda Gronau [email protected]
Translation:
Romana Rocchino [email protected]
Index of the sculptures | Indice delle sculture
1/3 life size – scala 1:3
6....................................................Betsabea
8................................................ Cinderella I
11.............. Dopo il bagno | After the bath
13................................................Esmeralda
14......................................Girl on the stairs
17..................................... Girl with red hair
19......................................................... Icaro
20........................................................... Idra
22...................Il Canottiere | The Oarsman
25.............................. Il nastro | The ribbon
27....................................Il regalo | The gift
28....................Il risveglio | The awakening
31.......................La bagnante | The bather
32.......................La mattina | The morning
35................................. La scala | The stairs
37...................... La sorpresa | The surprise
38......................Late date | Scusa il ritardo
40..................................M’ama non m’amaHe loves me... he loves me not!
42..................................................Miss Pink
44................................................. Penelope
46....................................................Sardinia
48...................... Sleepless | Notte insonne
life size – scala 1:1
Amazonia ................................................ 50
Battle dress | Uniforme .......................... 52
Blue lady ................................................. 54
Ilaria si veste | Ilaria dressing................. 56
La principessa e la rana ......................... 58Princess and Frog
Mata Hari ................................................ 60
Midsummer night’s dream II ................. 62
Midsummer night’s dream .................... 63
Mother and Child | Maternità ............... 64
Other works
Midsummer night’s dream – marble .... 66
Mary McAleese ...................................... 67
Sean Donlon........................................... 67
Jade ........................................................ 67
By Himself - Paddy Campbell ............... 67
Spitit of love memorial .......................... 68
4
Introduction
In Paddy Campbell’s 70th year, his studio is as busy as ever – wax figures in various stages of prep-aration stand everywhere on trestles and rotating tables. And the bronzes – modern-day men and women, dressed in their sassy, coloured, bronze clothes, stride out in their self confident beauty to wrest our attention from the sinuous nudes and the meditative bikini-clad women sitting at their feet. Not a word is uttered and yet the air here is thick with his figures’ stories.
He is a natural teller of stories, and he does it through the poetry of sculpture, through a gesture, a movement captured, through a pose. But over the past few years, Paddy’s storytelling – and the quality surrounding his bronzes – has gone through a major transformation thanks in part to his work with his scenarios. These are scenes from everyday life – cafès, a fashion show catwalk, a house at Christmas – teeming with knee-high wax figures, each of which has been painstakingly made and individually tailor dressed for its role. It took a great deal of courage for Paddy to show his first scenarios, but the reaction he received was positive and overwhelming. This provided him with the encouragement that he needed to trust and follow his artistic instincts, and to move through technique and into even greater expressive freedom.
Over the years, as the stories they tell have become more ambitious, so have Paddy’s scenarios become busier and more sophisticated while the stories and relationships between the figures, their backdrop and the viewer, have become bolder and more complex.
The same can be said for his bronzes. They are confident, self-assured, centred, and very much part of their world. Everything about many of his more recent pieces, from their names to their dress and their manner, tells us that they are all about living in the moment, in the now. They track Paddy’s own development, and they show us that if expressed freely and with the originality that resides deep within, creativity, and the curiosity that nourishes it, are essential to being really, truly, alive.
Over the coming year, the pieces in this catalogue will be shown in Dublin, Belfast, London, Flor-ence, Sardinia and Sicily, all places with which Paddy has a deep connection. His father came from Northern Ireland to settle in Dublin, where Paddy was born during the Second World War. Ireland, North and South, with its rich heritage of music and words, has instilled in Paddy an enduring love of stories and poetry. London, which stimulated his abiding passion for rugby and soccer as a young man, has inspired his powerful sporting portraits, and as home to three of paddy’s chil-dren, it has become an unexpected home-from-home for him too. And Florence, with its deep cultural heritage in the visual arts, was the perfect place for him to discover and develop his talent for sculpture.
And so, as well as celebrating these three countries and their influence on Paddy’s artistic life and expression in his 70th year, this catalogue also celebrates discovery, growth and development, and the immense courage it takes to forge your own road through life’s adventures and tell its stories with the vulnerability and passion that are at the core of every human being.
Amanda Gronau
5
Introduzione
Allo scoccare del suo 70° anno, lo studio di Paddy Campbell è affollato come sempre – figure di cera in vari stadi di lavorazione giacciono ovunque su cavalletti e tavoli girevoli. E le sculture, don-ne e uomini dei nostri tempi, colorati nei loro vistosi panni bronzei, avanzano spavaldi, consape-voli della loro bellezza, strappando la nostra attenzione dai nudi sinuosi e dalle figure pensierose e vestite di bikini, sedute ai loro piedi. Non una parola è proferita, ma l’aria è densa delle storie di queste figure.
Paddy è un cantastorie di natura, ci parla attraverso la poesia della scultura, attraverso un gesto, un movimento catturato, tramite una posa. Ma negli ultimi anni, la narrazione di Paddy e la qualità emanata dalle sue sculture, hanno subito una grande trasformazione, grazie in parte al suo lavoro con gli “scenari”. Questi sono scene tratte dalla vita di tutti i giorni – un bar, una passerella di moda, una casa nel giorno di Natale – brulicanti di figure di cera alte fino al ginocchio, ciascuna delle quali è stata meticolosamente lavorata ed individualmente vestita in modo sartoriale per il ruolo che deve interpretare. Mostrare il suo primo scenario gli richiese una buona dose di corag-gio, ma ricevette una reazione positiva e travolgente. Questo gli ha dato il coraggio di cui aveva bisogno per credere nei suoi istinti artistici e per seguirli oltre la tecnica e verso una più grande libertà espressiva.
Cosi, negli anni, le storie che raccontano questi scenari sono diventate più ambiziose, e nello stesso tempo, le opere stesse si sono fatte più sofisticate ed affollate mentre le storie e le rela-zioni tra le figure, i loro contesti ed i loro osservatori sono diventate più audaci e più complesse. Lo stesso può essere detto per i suoi bronzi. Loro sono fiduciosi, sicuri di sé, centrati e assolu-tamente parte del loro mondo. Tutto circa i suoi più recenti pezzi, dai loro nomi ai loro vestiti e ai loro modi, ci dice che ognuno di loro vive nel momento, nell’ora. Tracciano lo sviluppo dello stesso artista e ci mostrano che la creatività, e la curiosità che la nutre, se vengono espresse libe-ramente e con l’originalità che risiede nel nostro profondo, sono parti essenziali del nostro essere realmente vivi.
Durante il prossimo anno, i pezzi in questo catalogo saranno esposti a Dublino, Belfast, Londra, Firenze, in Sardegna e in Sicilia, tutti luoghi con i quali Paddy ha un profondo legame. Il padre, nativo dell’Irlanda del Nord si stabilì a Dublino, dove Paddy nacque durante la seconda guerra mondiale. L’Irlanda, Nord e Sud, con il suo patrimonio di musica e parole, ha instillato in Paddy un durevole amore per le storie e per la poesia. Londra, che ha stimolato la sua passione per il rugby e il calcio fin da quando era un bambino, ha ispirato i suoi potenti ritratti sportivi, e come dimora di tre dei suoi figli , è addirittura diventata un’inaspettata seconda casa anche per lui. E Firenze, con il suo profondo patrimonio culturale di arti visive, è stato il posto perfetto per scoprire e svi-luppare il suo talento per la scultura.
Così, il presente catalogo celebra questi tre Paesi e la loro influenza sulla vita e l’espressione arti-stica nel suo 70° anno. Ma celebra anche la scoperta, la crescita e lo sviluppo. E l’immenso corag-gio necessario a forgiare la nostra propria strada attraverso le avventure della vita e raccontare le nostre storie con la vulnerabilità e la passione che sono al cuore di ogni essere umano.
Amanda Gronau
6
1/3
life
size
| sc
ala
1:3
Bronze/Patina cm 24.5x14x58 inch 9.5x5.5x22.5edition 10
Betsabea
7
8
Bronze/Patina cm 40x20x15 inch 11x5x15edition 10
Cinderella
9
10
Bronze/Patina cm 32x25x20 inch 12.5x9.8x7.8edition 10
Dopo il bagno | After the bath
11
12
Bronze/Patina cm 58x17x26 inch 22.8x6.7x10.2edition 10
Esmeralda
13
14
Bronze/Patina cm 62x16x16inch 24.5x6.1x6.1edition 10
Girl on the stairs
15
16
Bronze/Patina cm 42x19x19inch 16.5x7.5x7.5edition 10
Girl with red hair
17
18
Bronze/Patina cm 110x30x30inch 43.3x11.8x11.8edition 10
Icaro
19
20
Bronze/Patina cm 29x21x39inch 11.4x8.3x15.4edition 10
Idra
21
22
Bronze/Patina cm 45x220x230inch 17.7x86.6x90.6edition 10
Il Canottiere | The Oarsman
24
Bronze/Patina cm 42x25x19inch 16.5x9.7x7.5edition 10
Il nastro | The ribbon
25
26
Bronze/Patina cm 24x20x20inch 9.5x7.8x7.8edition 10
Il regalo | The gift
27
Bronze/Patina cm 45x20x20inch 17.8x7.8x7.8edition 10
Il risveglio | Awakening
Il risveglio | Awakening
30
Bronze/Patinacm 40x12x12inch 15.8x4.8x4.8edition 10
La bagnante | The bather
31
32
Bronze/Patina cm 57x13x10inch 22.4x5.1x3.9edition 10
La mattina | The morning
33
34
Bronze/Patina cm 62x16x16inch 24.5x6.1x6.1edition 10
La scala | The stair
35
36
Bronze/Patina cm 40x12x12inch 15.7x4.7x4.7edition 10
La sorpresa | The surprise
37
38
Bronze/Patina cm 59x17x26inch 23.2x6.7x10.2edition 10
Late date | Scusa il ritardo
39
40
Bronze/Patina cm 24x20x20inch 9.4x7.8x7.8edition 10
M’ama non m’amaHe loves me... he loves me not!
41
42
Bronze/Patina cm 62x17x26inch 24.4x6.7x10.2edition 10
Miss Pink
43
44
Bronze/Patina cm 30x20x18inch 12x8x7edition 10
Penelope
45
46
Bronze/Patina cm 46x25x20inch 15.1x9.8x7.9edition 10
Sardinia
47
48
Bronze/Patina cm 45x20x20inch 17.7x7.9x7.9edition 10
Sleepless | Notte insonne
49
50
Bronze/Patina cm 160x46x66inch 63x18x26edition 7
Amazonia
life
size
| sc
ala
1:1
51
52
Bronze/Patina cm 173x57x36inch 68x22.4x14.2edition 7
Battle Dress | Uniforme
53
54
55
Bronze/Patina cm 120x75x105inch 47.2x30x41.3edition 7
Blue Lady
56
Bronze/Patina cm 180x40x60inch 70.9x15.7x23.6edition 7
Ilaria si veste | Ilaria dressing
57
58
59
Bronze/Patina cm 105x74x120inch 41.3x29.1x47.2edition 7
La Principessa e la Rana | Princess and Frog
60
Bronze/Patina cm 170x92x92inch 66.9x36.2x36.2edition 7
Mata Hari
61
62
Bronze/Patina cm 86.4x71x23inch 34x28x9.1edition 7
Midsummer night’s dream II
Bronze/Patina cm I 70x100x170inch 27.6x39.4x66.9edition 7
Midsummer night’s dream
63
64
Bronze/Patina cm 75x78x753inch 29.5x30.7x29.5edition 7
Mother and Child | Maternità
65
66
othe
r w
orks
Midsummer night’s dream (marble)
67Mary McAleese (President of Ireland 1997-2011) Sean Donlon (Chancellor University of Limerick)
Jade By Himself - Paddy Campbell
68
Biography
Born in Dublin in 1942, Paddy Campbell loved drawing and painting from early childhood. At school he achieved honours in his art exams, and he attended courses at the National College of Art in Dublin during the 1960s.
For a living he turned to the culinary arts, and trained in catering in Dublin, London and Sweden before returning to Ireland to start his own business in contract catering in 1967. This blossomed into a successful enterprise, which took over Dublin’s famous Bewley’s cafe and coffee business in 1986. In 1996 at the age of 54, he decided to return to life as an artist and he began to spend his summers in Florence, studying painting and drawing, and gradually “letting go” of his life as a businessman.
By 2000 he had discovered his true gift for sculpture and spent three years in Florence learning the techniques before starting to work at his studio in Via Luna.
In 2008, as part of his “Another World” exhibition in Fiesole, he unveiled an artistic and narrative approach that was a complete departure from his previous work. Here, he showed four scenarios showing miniature everyday scenes populated by a cast of little knee high wax figures, each of which was a full blown sculpture in its own right. Since then he has created many more scenarios and over 100,000 people have seen these first hand, in Dublin, Vicchio, Florence and San Giovanni Valdarno.
In the meantime, the artist continues to create the figurative bronze works for which he is well known, and he was commissioned to make the official portrait of the president of Ireland Mary McAleese, a bust of Sean Donlon, Chancellor of the University of Limerick, as well as a memorial to those who lost their lives in Bantry Bay, Co Cork and many private commissions.
In 2012 he was honoured with the commission to make a memorial sculpture in Vicchio Nel Mugello, the birthplace of Cellini, Giotto and Fra Angelico.
His sculptures are to be found in many private and public collections such as the National Self Portrait Gallery of Ireland in Limerick, University College Dublin, the Aramark Tower in Philadelphia, Benvenuto Cellini Museum in Vicchio (Florence), Blackrock Clinic Dublin, Palazzo d’Arnolfo in San Giovanni Valdarno (Arezzo), Ex Macelli Area in Fiesole (Florence).
Spirit of Love memorial, Bantry Bay, Ireland
69
Biografia
Nato a Dublino nel 1942, Paddy Campbell è un appassionato di disegno e pittura fin dall’infanzia. A scuola superava con lode i suoi esami di arte, a ha frequento alcuni corsi al National College of Art a Dublino nel 1960.
Per professione ha scelto l’arte culinaria, e ha studiato catering a Dublino, Londra e in Svezia, pri-ma di tornare in Irlanda e iniziare la sua attività nel contract catering nel 1967. Questa si è trasfor-mata in un’azienda di enorme successo, che ha assorbito successivamente Bewley’s, la famosa compagnia produttrice di caffè di Dublino nel 1986. Nel 1996, all’età di 54 anni, Paddy decide di trasformare la sua vita in quella di un artista ed ha iniziato quindi a trascorrere le sue estati a Firenze, studiando pittura e disegno, e lasciando piano piano andare la sua vita di imprenditore.
Nel 2000 ha scoperto il suo autentico dono per la scultura, e ha passato tre anni a Firenze impa-rando la tecnica prima di iniziare a lavorare nel suo studio di Via Luna.
Nel 2008, come parte della sua mostra “Another World” a Fiesole, ha svelato un nuovo approc-cio artistico e narrativo, discostandosi completamente dal suo lavoro precedente. Qui, ha espo-sto quattro scenari che rappresentano miniature di scene di tutti i giorni, popolate da figure di cera alte fino al ginocchio, ciascuna delle quali è una scultura in piena regola. Da quel momento in poi ha creato molti altri scenari che sono stati visti da più di 100.000 persone nelle mostre di Dublino, Vicchio, Firenze e San Giovanni Valdarno.
Nel frattempo l’artista ha continuato a creare i suoi bronzi figurativi per il quale è molto conosciu-to, e ha realizzato su commissione i ritratti ufficiali di Mary McAleese, Presidente d’Irlanda, Sean Donlon, Cancelliere dell’Università di Limerick, il memoriale alle persone che hanno perso la vita nella Bantry Bay, Co.Cork, e numerevoli altre commissioni private.
Nel 2012 ha avuto l’onore di ricevere una commissione dal comune di Vicchio del Mugello, città natale di Benvenuto Cellini, Giotto e Fra Angelico, per la realizzazione di un monumento ai caduti.
Le sue sculture si trovano in molte collezioni pubbliche e private come la National Self Portrait Gallery of Ireland a Limerick, la University College di Dublino, la Aramark Tower a Philadelphia, Museo Benvenuto Cellini a Vicchio (Firenze), Blackrock Clinic Dublino, Palazzo d’Arnolfo San Gio-vanni Valdarno (Arezzo), Ex Macelli Area Fiesole (Florence).
70
2002Group Show Oireachtas Exhibition,Dun Laoghaire, Ireland
Solo Exhibition, The Cross Gallery,Dublin, Ireland
2003Annual Exhibition, Royal HibernianAcademy, Dublin, Ireland
Group Show, Blue Leaf Gallery,Dublin
2004Annual Exhibition, Royal HibernianAcademy, Dublin
2005Solo Exhibition, National Collegeof Ireland, Dublin
Annual Exhibition, Royal HibernianAcademy, Dublin
Summer Show, Petley’s Fine Art, Cork Street, London
Group Show, “Better Late Than Never”,Cork (European City of Culture), Ireland
2006Solo Exhibition, Cross Gallery,Dublin
Florence Academy Alumni Exhibition,Palazzo Corsini, Florence
Group Show, Jorgensen Fine Art,Dublin
Group Show, Maryann’s Gallery,Castletownsend, Ireland
Group Show, Solomon Gallery,Dublin
Solo Exhibition, Rhythms of Life,Gormley’s Fine Art, Omagh, N. Ireland
2007Joint Exhibition, “The Art of Seduction”,Gormley’s Fine Art, Dublin
2008Group Show, “The Secret Garden”,Solomon Gallery, Dublin
Group Show, Midsummer GardenSculpture Exhibition, Gormley’s FineArt, Swords, Ireland
Group Show, Franco Senesi Fine ArtGalleries, Positano and Capri, Italy
Invited Artist: Annual Exhibition,Royal Ulster Academy, Belfast, N. Ireland
2009Group Show, Franco Senesi Fine ArtGalleries, Positano and Capri, Italy
Invited Artist Annual Exhibition,Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin,
Solo Exhibition, “Un Altro Mondo”Fiesole, Italy
Solo Exhibition, Il Cancello Gallery,via dei Fossi, Florence
2010Joint Exhibition, Gormley’s Fine Art,Belfast, N.Ireland
Group Show, Jorgensen Fine Art,Dublin
Summer Show, Petley’s Fine Art,Cork Street, London
Group Show, Florence AcademyAlumni Exhibition, Palazzo Corsini, Florence
Group Show, Franco Senesi Fine Art,Positano and Capri, Italy
Solo Exhibition “La Vita”Casa Benvenuto Cellini, Vicchio nel Mugello, Italy
Paddy Campbell Exhibitions
71
Christmas Show Petley’s Fine Art, Cork Street, London
“Exhibition of Contemporary Irish Art” Pillar Room Rotunda Hospital, Dublin
“Paddy About Town” Solo Exhibition a cura di Art’ù, Villa Pallini, Florence
“Little Christmas” Solo Exhibition Bewley’s Cafè Theatre, Dublin
2011“Moments in Time” Solo Exhibition Palazzo d’Arnolfo, San Giovanni Valdarno Arezzo, Italy
Gormley’s Fine Art, Solo exhibition Belfast, N. Ireland
Hotel Il Salviatino international garden exhibition
“Cast 25” Celebrating 25 years of Ireland’s leading bronze art foundry Solomon Gallery, Dublin
“Settimana dell’Arte in Sardegna” Galleria Spagnoli, Florence Baia di Conte, Alghero, Italy
Petley’s Fine Art Group exhibition Cork Street, London
“Settimana dell’arte in Grecia” Galleria Spagnoli, Firenze
Hydra, Thermisia Greece September 2011
“Opera Festival Exhibition” Group Exhibition Greenacres Fine Art Wexford, Ireland, November 2011
“Week end dell’arte” in PugliaGroup exhibition, Galleria Spagnoli, Bari, Italy, November 2011
Petley’s Fine Art Christmas Exhibition London, UK, December 2011
“Christmas Street” Exhibition Bewley’s Café Theatre,
Dublin, December 2011
2012
“SOLO 70”
June
“Solo70” exhibition, Gormely’s Fine Art, Dublin, Ireland
“Settimana dell’arte” in Sardegna, Group exhibition, Galleria Spagnoli, Cagliari, Italy
August
“Solo70” exhibition, Gormely’s Fine Art, Culloden Hotel, Belfast , N. Ireland
September
“Settimana dell’arte in Sicilia” Group exhibition, Galleria Spagnoli, Taormina, Italy
October- November
“Solo70” exhibition Petley’s Fine Art, Cork Street, London
December
“Coffee at Eleven” Solo exhibition of Scenarios Bewley’s Cafè Theatre, Dublin
2013
July
Major Solo exhibition Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence
Aknowledgements
To the many great people who’ve helped me to cross the 70’s finish-line,
my sincere thanks. To name but a few…
My wife, VeronicaCòlin Campbell
Luciano BurgalassiAlessandro MoggiAmanda GronauAstrid Gillenius Barry Alexander
Gaetano SalmistaIndustria Grafica Valdarnese
Leo HigginsMicheal O’SullivanRomana Rocchino
Galleries representing Paddy Campbell
Dublin: Gormley’s Fine Art 25 South Frederick St
Dublin 2 Ireland Tel: +353 (0) 1 6729031
Email: [email protected] Web: www.gormleys.ie
Belfast: Gormley’s Fine Art 251 Lisburn Road
Belfast Tel: +44 (0)28 9066 3313
Email: [email protected]: www.gormleys.ie
London: Petley’s Fine Art 9 Cork Street
London, W1S 3LLTel: +44 (0)20 7494 2021 Fax: +44 (0)20 7691 9755Email: [email protected] Web: www.petleys.co.uk
Florence: Galleria Spagnoli Via della Torricella n.25 - 50011 Antella (FI)
Tel: +39 (0)55 621152/621252Fax: +39 (0)55 6560319
Email: [email protected] Web: www.galleriaspagnoli.org
To contact Paddy [email protected]
www.paddycampbell.ie
