Simon Gudgeon British, Contemporary

A leading British contemporary sculptor, Simon Gudgeon is known for his often very large-scale minimalist, semi-abstract forms, created in his signature smooth style.  Using a stripped-back aesthetic, Gudgeon takes nature as a major influence, working directly from his encounters with, and observations of, live subjects and the natural world.  He is perhaps best known for his monumental sculptures Isis and Search for Enlightenment (both placed in London’s Hyde Park), as well as his sculptures of birds in flight which appear to defy gravity. 

Gudgeon captures specific moments through the crafting of clean lines that suggest rather then depict a form, a movement or a feeling, provoking a strong connection between the viewer and the object. He sculpts primarily in bronze, and occasionally in marble, granite, glass or stainless steel.  Terracotta clay, oil-based Chavant clay, epoxy resin or foam, are used for the initial modelling, depending on the nature and scale of the subject and the intended result.

Born in Yorkshire in 1958, Gudgeon ‘lived deep in the countryside on the family farm, learning the essential arts of observation, evaluation and interpretation of how animals and birds behave, both with each other and man’.  After studying law at Reading University, he qualified as a solicitor, starting painting only in his thirties and first exhibiting at London’s Battersea Exhibition Centre in 1992.  An impulse purchase of artist’s clay at the age of 40 led into his career as a sculptor, in which he was able to respond to that which lay closest to his heart: the natural world. Since then Gudgeon has attained worldwide recognition, showing works in London, New York, Chicago, San Diego, Paris and the Netherlands, and providing works for high profile collections.