Bartlett sculpts a Silver Cloud at UTS

Silver Cloud, an exhibition of extraordinary works by Australian sculptor Geoffrey Bartlett
will open at the University of Technology, Sydney Gallery on 18 September 2001.

The works which span the artist’s past decade are characterised by a harmonious use of welding, soldering, plating, casting, carving, bolting and lamination in the development of single sculptures.

His work brings together a range of metals and timbers resulting in forms that assume a fluid and organic life of their own, while simultaneously emphasising the dramatic points of connection between contrasting materials.

Major works by Bartlett adorn some of Sydney’s busiest public spaces, including the giant stainless steel, steel, bronze and Atlantic cedar Dancer 2, located in the Colonial First State building’s foyer in 60 Castlereagh Street.

Bartlett said he believed his sculptures in such locations communicated powerful contrasts within themselves and their surroundings that evoked vitality and drew attention.

"Much of the appeal of these works, lies in their ability to generate energy in the surroundings they contrast, as well as achieving an energy and life in their own right," he said.

"My sculptures are a diary of self expression. To permanently capture oneself this way and be able to reflect on from where we have come, is one of the privileges an artist enjoys.

"With the exhibition at UTS, visitors will view a collection that spans my work over ten years and I hope, gain a sense of the evolution that both the work and I have undergone."

Art academic, Associate Professor Ken Wach in the exhibition’s catalogue says Bartlett’s favourite tools are a second-hand blacksmith’s anvil and a panel beater’s hammer.

"Fascinated by industrial and engineering devices and conversant with engineering principles and structures, Bartlett’s works exploit linkages, gravity and the tensile strength of material," he says.

"What we so often see in Bartlett’s work are curiously animated and original amalgamations of natural form and material structure. Bartlett works alone and belongs to no group. The sculptures have no overt message, no political undertones and make no compromising concessions to intellectual fashions. They often seem to delicately swing and hang; their natural forms trace a visual pendulum and the eye takes in and enjoys the arcs of arrested movement."

Silver Cloud can be seen at UTS Gallery, level 4, 702 Harris Street, Ultimo, from 18 September to 12 October 2001. The Gallery is open Tuesday to Friday from noon to 6pm and entry is free.