Macc-inspired art a hit in Chile
ASCULPTOR inspired by her upbringing in Macclesfield has become the first British artist to be part of an international festival in Chile.
Isabel Langtry was raised in the town and as a youngster loved spending time exploring the nearby hills and looking for ancient ruins.
After studying fine art she became a sculptor and was invited to take part in the fifth International Symposium of Sculpture in Santiago, capital of the South American country.
During the two week event, Isabel made a 3m high yellow exhibit from welded steel, which was christened Biobio - after Chile’s second longest river.
And she says this - along with much of her work - was heavily influenced by the time she spent in and around Macclesfield.
Isabel, who lived on Tytherington Drive, said: “The countryside, landscape and nature around Macclesfield is always something that has inspired me.
“West Park Museum was also important and stayed in my mind. Really, these are things that made me a sculptor.
“I was the first British is to get people’s imagination going. People can project what they want onto your sculpture. Some people thought it was a butterfly, some a river and others fields.”
Biobio is now on display in a park in Santiago.
It is Isabel’s fifth public sculpture - with three others in London and another in Majorca - and she has others in private collections across the world.
She moved to Macclesfield from Nigeria with her scientist parents, aged five, then studied art at college and university, graduating in 1980.
Now Isabel lives in London and is principal of Hampstead School of Art.
It was her former tutor Francisco Gazitua, a famous Chilean sculptor, who invited her to take part in the symposium.
The married mum-oftwo said: “I studied the landscape in Chile and it had a bit in common with the Macclesfield area.
“The sculpture looks fantastic where it is now and I was thrilled to leave it on display in Chile.
“Working there was such a delight, the country is majestic.
“The people are highly creative, warm and enthusiastic about developing new culture and proud of their historic culture.”