BEATRICE HOFFMAN

Beatrice Hoffman studied sculpture at the Norwich School of Art,1986-9. She is based in the Midlands and works mostly in solid and coiled clay, creating sculptures both figurative and abstract to be cast in bronze and bronze resin. Her other career, as an arts educator and therapist, makes her very aware of the psychological and expressive potential of sculptures.

Creating my sculptures, I experience the ebb and flow of external sensations, and internal moods and feelings more intensely; the seclusion of the studio, and the seemingly repetative working process of refining surfaces enables a mixture of compulsion and reflection.

Stroking, pressing, squeezing, scraping, shaving, hacking, slapping the form into shape, the completed sculpture contains, condenses and transforms the feelings that went into its creation, and holds them in one cohesive object.

Beauty to me is simplicity, clarity, concentration and a degree of abstraction. It must extend beyond decorative prettiness. Beauty has to be able to hold contradictions, tensions and ambivalence - it is a balance kept despite conflict.

I am fascinated by ”strong form”. With both figurative and abstract sculptures, I search for a sense of fullness contrasted with negative shapes; sharp angles between surfaces, juxtaposed with smoothness.

I am influenced by C.G. Jung’s ideas of archetypes and equally by childhood memories of Sunday visits to a catholic church filled with Baroque carvings. I reconnect with the tradition of sculptures seen in places of worship, and work towards a spiritually potent image used in a secular context.

Themes on the interface of mythology, psychology and spirituality - mental states, relationships, human identity, maternal love, and solitude are universal experiences that influence my work.
(Beatrice Hoffman, 2012)

An e-catalogue will be available during the exhibition.