See & Do

Drop-in activity

Sculpting Stories with Abid Javed, Tessa Silva and Marek Pitera

Saturday 24 August 2024

14:00–16:00

Studios & Gardens, Hertfordshire

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Included in an annual ticket

Part of Inspiration, Sculpture and Our Natural World

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An afternoon of artist talks and tactility, celebrating experimental approaches to material process and the contextual stories behind making.

Each artist will share their personal studio practice, in relation to this season’s theme of Inspiration, Sculpture & Our Natural World, & how they resonate with Henry Moore.

All sessions are included in your annual ticket to Henry Moore Studios & Gardens. This is a drop-in event, there is no need to book in advance.

“The observation of nature is part of an artist’s life, it enlarges his form-knowledge, keeps him fresh and from working only by formula, and feeds inspiration.

“The human figure is what interests me most deeply, but I have found principles of form and rhythm from the study of natural objects such as pebbles, rocks, bones, trees, plants etc.

“There is, in nature, a limitless variety of shapes and rhythms (and the telescope and microscope have enlarged the field) from which the sculptor can enlarge his form-knowledge experience.”

Henry Moore, 1934

Abid Javed

14:00–14:30

Abid Javed is a research scientist and sculptor with a background in Molecular Biology. His studio practice takes an abstract approach to create sculptural landscapes inspired by biology and biological narratives.

Recognised for his ‘molecular objects’, Abid has developed an identity by sharing his insights from the unseen world we live in, re-imagined as abstract, biomorphic forms. His ceramics are distinct in their appearance, drawing from references including 20^th Century art and design, Islamic art and geometry.

Abid takes scientific observations under the microscopic lens, reimagining molecules and cellular landscapes as sculptural bodies. He works in a variety of materials including clay, beeswax, metal and paper.

abidjaved.com

Tessa Silva

14:45–15:15

Tessa Silva is a British-Brazilian artist and Royal College of Art alumni, with an interest in the impact of materials on society and what they can reveal anthropologically. Her focal body of work is a study into the use of milk proteins as a material for the handcrafted production of fine objects. Tessa’s research and exploration prompts the inspection of our material culture retrospectively and prospectively, using craft as a tool to explore the relationship between humans and animals; particularly the female mammals role in a patriarchal social and cultural structure.

As a raw material, milk’s biography is rich and extensive; the substance of sustenance, it has contributed to the development of civilisation as we know it, with some of the earliest human artefacts including vessels containing residues of cow’s milk. The body of work is both aesthetically seductive and challenging, highlighting milk’s mythic status and animate nature. Cast into handmade fabric moulds, the material manifests as swollen cuddling forms, satisfyingly entwined to create sculptural objects.

tessasilva.com

A black and white photo showing a young woman smiling at camera from behind a row of ceramic artworks

A photo showing an abstract sculpture made of stacked bulbous ceramic shapes

A sculpture in the form of a hoop, the shape is made up of bulbous discs of white material

Marek Pitera

15:30–16:00

Marek Pitera is a former medical diagnostician, now studio ceramicist, with an untraditional route into his creative practice. Marek’s studio overlooks a seasonally planted garden, where he develops drawings and three-dimensional work. He sources his clay from local grounds which bring properties of iron, lime and brick and the histories held within them.

Marek creates creates ceramic sculpture as an exploration of the subconscious through an intuitive design process. Free-standing and wall-mounted forms are built by coiling from stoneware clay; a method and material with roots stretching to the dawn of humanity.

He creates tone and contrast by adding a variety of both found and commercial materials to his clay mixes, in particular London clay sourced the studio site in the Brent river watershed. This forges a bond between each piece and its place of making in London within walking distance from an Iron Age pottery site that used this same clay.

www.marekpitera.uk

Tickets

This event is included in an annual ticket. It is a drop-in event, so there’s no need to book.

If you already have an annual ticket, just come along on the day and bring your annual ticket with you.
If you do not have an annual ticket, you can buy one online or from the ticket desk when you arrive and return to the Studios & Gardens as often as you like, during open season, for 12 calendar months.
Children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the event.

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We are able to offer five free tickets for each of our workshops / events, to anyone who wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend.

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