Words from the Gallery
It is no surprise that the breath-taking forms of David Sprakes have won the prestigous R.B.A Nathan David Award for sculpture.
David masterly accentuates light with shadow and space within form to truly create resounding artworks of beauty and resonance.
Looking in depth into David’s Sculptures it is exciting to see how his manipulation of form fuels the exploration of light onto surface, where incisions and hollows curve and contain, revealing contrasting shadows. As if he were blending sharpness upon silk.
Background
The tactile and sensual qualities of objects and the environment, both man-made and natural are a constant source of inspiration for David. Form, space, rhythm, texture and the shape and feel of things play a central role in the development and construction of his work.
The themes that recur in his work are abstraction, eroded, vacated, weathered and unearthed forms, and structures found and seen in the fabricated and natural world. An underpinning concept in the sculptures is ‘truth to materials’, allowing their visual and tactile qualities to become a key message of David ‘s work.
The sculpture evolves through enquiry, investigation and exploration. Drawing, maquette studies, clay modelling, mould-making, casting, construction techniques and carving illustrate the breadth of techniques involved in David’s work.
David absorbs many visual influences that sets him out on a theme of work, which, in turn can ‘self-seed’ the content of future sculptures.
Key Dates and Accreditations
1969 – 1970 Doncaster College of Art.
1970 – 1973 Newcastle Upon Tyne Polytechnic. Fine Art Degree.
1973 – 1974 Liverpool Polytechnic. Post Graduate Degree, Studies in Art Education.
1974 – 1984 Lecturer in Sculpture. Wirral College of Art.
1985 – 2010 Head of Art, Trent College, Nottingham.
2014 Elected to the Manchester Academy of Fine Art. M.A.FA.
2018 Elected member of the Royal Society of British Artists. R.B.A
2020 Winner of the Royal Society of British Artists Nathan David Award for Sculpture
