Sculptures in Cathedral were a big success
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TEN years ago one of the most extraordinary exhibitions of contemporary art ever staged in the UK took place in Gloucester.
The Cathedral and its precincts provided the venue for “Crucible”, a collection of 76 sculptures and other works by 48 of the most celebrated artists, many of them with international reputations, working in the country.
It was the retirement of the Very Reverend Nick Bury, Dean of Gloucester, that sparked the idea as he wanted to say goodbye to his role in a way that would leave a lasting memory. And he certainly did.
Two years in the planning, the task of bringing the works of art together was trusted to Rungwe Kingdon of Pangolin Editions, the sculpture foundry and fabricator based at the Chalford Industrial Estate, near Stroud that was in 2010 celebrating its 25th anniversary.
“We wanted to find contemporary sculptures that would complement the magnificent setting of Gloucester Cathedral, which is a great work of art in itself,” Mr Kingdon told the Citizen.
“We are extremely fortunate in that every sculptor we approached has responded positively. The result is a tremendous endorsement of the sculptural richness of our age.”
Originally scheduled to run from September 1 to October 30, Crucible proved to be so successful that it was extended into November of that year, by which time it had attracted 136, 000 visitors.
If you attended the show, or like many people visited it a number of times, you’ll no doubt have your own ideas about what were the highlights.
But the sheer scale of the event hit home hard. Visitors arrived at the Cathedral’s south door entrance to find it guarded by a colossal bronze figure, half human, half machine of the Roman god of fire “Vulcan”, 25 feet tall and five tonnes in weight, the work of Scottish sculpture Sir Eduardo Paolozzi.
In complete contrast, just inside the south door’s porch was “Bear” by Michael Cooper.
Odd though it is to make such a remark, this massive bronze Bruno looked as cuddly as a teddy and almost everyone who passed him gave him a stroke or a pat.
Once inside the cathedral the north end of the nave was dominated by the disturbing image of “Calvary”, a larger than life-sized figure made from sharpened spikes that silently shouted torment.
Equally arresting was a bronze by Damien Hirst titled “St Bartholomew. Exquisite Pain”, a depiction of the unfortunate first century martyr who was skinned alive.
The late Lynn Chadwick, who died in
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2003 at his home in Lypiatt Park, Gloucestershire, was represented by his “Teddy boy and girl” and another local connection on show was a piece called “Unity”, carved in stone by the artist Jordi Raga Frances who had previously worked at Gloucester Cathedral as a stonemason. When asked why he wanted to stage the exhibition at Gloucester Cathedral the Very Reverend Nick Bury, the outgoing Dean replied “Well, it’s the most wonderful building in the world. We’ve had a number of important sculpture exhibi