Tag Archives: Helaine Blumenfeld

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Studio Sem, Pietrasanta, 2016, Henryk Hetflaisz

Studio Sem, Pietrasanta, 2016,
Henryk Hetflaisz

It was a great delight to meet the sculptor Helaine Blumenfeld OBE again at the opening of her exhibition Hard Beauty at the Hignell Gallery in Mayfair’s Shepherd Street (hignellgallery.com).  Her exceptional sculptures which combine the ideas of abstraction and figuration are tours de force which take great skill and verve to create as there are elements of risk in that process.

Helaine Blumenfeld OBE, Taking Risks, Terracotta, 2016, Courtesy Hignell Gallery, ‎Henryk Hetflaisz -001

Helaine Blumenfeld OBE,
Taking Risks, Terracotta, 2016,
Courtesy Hignell Gallery, ‎Henryk Hetflaisz -001

Just a short walk away in Bruton Street you still have the chance to see an exhibition (until 29th October) devoted to Helaine’s father-in-law the renowned photographer Erwin Blumenfeld.  Entitled Erwin Blumenfeld: From Dada to Vogue, it is being shown at Osborne Samuel (www.osbornesamuel.com) and comprises of a mixture of original photographs, drawings collages and personal ephemera which have come from his family.

Erwin Blumenfeld, Vogue, Paris, 1938, Silver Gelatin Print, Courtesy Osborne Samuel

Erwin Blumenfeld,
Vogue, Paris, 1938,
Silver Gelatin Print,
Courtesy Osborne Samuel

This exhibition’s importance is highlighted by its curator Lou Proud who says:  It is simply not possible to put into few words the importance of Erwin Blumenfeld’s work, let alone its stand alone beauty and ever resounding influence on today’s image makers. It’s fascinating how someone who did everything possible to stretch, bend and break the existing boundaries of traditional photography, managed to create works that reach far beyond what we could ever dream that the medium of photography would and could deliver, leaving us In Memoriam, with what only can be described as ‘solidified magic’.

Erwin Blumenfeld, Shadowed Silhouettes, 1953, Silver Gelatin Print, Courtesy Osborne Samuel

Erwin Blumenfeld,
Shadowed Silhouettes, 1953,
Silver Gelatin Print,
Courtesy Osborne Samuel

While writing about Osborne Samuel it seems right to mention that they were behind the loan of Lynn Chadwick’s Walking Woman (1984) to Salisbury Cathedral where it can be seen on the West Lawn.  The gallery has had a long relationship with the Cathedral (www.salisburycathedral.org.uk).

Lynn Chadwick Walking Woman (1984) Credit Ash Mill

Lynn Chadwick
Walking Woman (1984)
Credit Ash Mill

Henry Moore and Others

Three really good exhibitions in London are united by the works of Henry Moore:

 

 Henry Moore: Sculpture and Drawings, Osborne Samuel, 23a Bruton Street, London W1, until 27th June 2015

Baby’s Head, 1926, Cast concrete, unique, ref. LH-35, 10.16 x 10.16 x 15.24 cms (4 x 4 x 6 in). Courtesy of Osborne Samuel Gallery

Baby’s Head, 1926, Cast concrete,
unique, ref. LH-35, 10.16 x 10.16 x 15.24 cms (4 x 4 x 6 in).
Courtesy of Osborne Samuel Gallery

This exhibition brings unseen early works including drawings from the collection of his sister Elizabeth Howarth, early carvings, very early lithographs and works from the 1940s. There are also photographs of Moore in his studio taken by the celebrated photographer Gemma Levine.

Madonna and Child, 1943, bronze, unique ref. LH1- 222, 18.4 x 8 x 7.5cm (7 1-4 x 3 1-4 x 3in). Courtesy of Samuel Osborne Gallery

Madonna and Child, 1943, bronze,
unique ref. LH1- 222, 18.4 x 8 x 7.5cm (7 1-4 x 3 1-4 x 3in).
Courtesy of Samuel Osborne Gallery

 www.osbornesamuel.com

 

 Rodin, Brancusi, Moore: Through the Sculptor’s Lens, Waddington Custot Galleries, 11 Cork Street, London W1, until 11th July 2015

Pierre Choumoff for Auguste Rodin The Hand of God c.1915 silver gelatin print 9 3/8 x 6 7/8 in / 23.8 x 17.5 cm Courtesy of Waddington Custot Galleries

Pierre Choumoff for Auguste Rodin
The Hand of God c.1915
silver gelatin print
9 3/8 x 6 7/8 in / 23.8 x 17.5 cm
Courtesy of Waddington Custot Galleries

We see through this exhibition of fifty vintage photographs from their studios how important photography was as a part of the working process of Auguste Rodin (1840–1917),Constantin Brancusi (1876–1957), and Henry Moore (1898–1986).

Henry Moore Mother and Child against Open Wall (plaster maquette for UNESCO commission 1956-57) 1956 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in / 40 x 50.2 cm gelatin silver print mounted on stock card (c.1956) Courtesy of Waddington Custot Galleries

Henry Moore
Mother and Child against Open Wall (plaster maquette for UNESCO commission 1956-57) 1956
15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in / 40 x 50.2 cm
gelatin silver print mounted on stock card (c.1956)
Courtesy of Waddington Custot Galleries

It provides an absolutely fascinating insight into their creative world perhaps best summed up by Brancusi who asked: “Why write about sculpture? Why not just show the photographs?”

Constantin Brancusi Endless Column in Voulangis c.1926–27 silver gelatin print 11 3/4 x 15 5/8 in / 29.7 x 39.7 cm Courtesy of Waddington Custot Galleries

Constantin Brancusi
Endless Column in Voulangis
c.1926–27
silver gelatin print
11 3/4 x 15 5/8 in / 29.7 x 39.7 cm
Courtesy of Waddington Custot Galleries

http://www.waddingtoncustot.com

 

‘Helaine Blumenfeld / Henry Moore: A Dialogue 1985-2015’, Bowman Sculpture, 6 Duke Street, St James’s, London SW1, until 30th June 2015

Installation shot of Helaine Blumenfeld / Henry Moore: A Dialogue 1985-2015 at Bowman Sculpture

Installation shot of Helaine Blumenfeld / Henry Moore: A Dialogue 1985-2015 at Bowman Sculpture

Thirty years ago a very special and important joint exhibition of work by these two artists took place at the Alex Rosenberg Gallery, New York. To celebrate this anniversary Bowman Sculpture are showing their work together including previously unexhibited works from private collections. It is great opportunity to see how these sculptors complement each other while remaining different.

Installation shot of Helaine Blumenfeld / Henry Moore: A Dialogue 1985-2015 at Bowman Sculpture

Installation shot of Helaine Blumenfeld / Henry Moore: A Dialogue 1985-2015 at Bowman Sculpture

http://www.bowmansculpture.com