Musical Muse

Something extraordinary about the white Alabaster stone is its deafening stillness. Viv has said that collectors of her work talk about the 'company' of these sculptures and the positive energy that emanates from them. They demand attention, even if that attention is not given by actually looking at them. I felt this 'presence' particularly strongly with Musical Muse. This sculpture is small and focused, the representation of a head is only apparent when looking at one third of it, while the rest of it feels quite abstract.

It seems to belong to another era. For those of you who are familiar with the Vorticist movement (a British version of Futurism in the 1910s) and the early sculptures of Jacob Epstein, you might find in this work a similar sense of mass and of control. In many of Viv's works, she seeks to capture the transient and the ephemeral in the permanency of the stone, in this work the 'muse' is still and fixed.

In the absolute whiteness of the sculpture, a poignant stillness is felt.

Not Only But Also

Starting bid: £48

Delicate Balance

Starting bid: £48

Viv is greatly influenced by the work of the American artist Alexander Calder and the conceptions of the sculptural mobile. Calder uses balance and suspension to suggest tension and promote a sense of the potential.

Like Viv's work, Calder's art is mostly abstract, but he always boldly colours his pieces. Viv responds to this with a natural voice; she draws upon the kinetic potential of a mobile but relates it to organic forms. Her Delicate Balance hangs like an icicle melting, the contact with the wire arch is minimal but holds a crucial connection which allows the sculpture to sit in its quivering state.

Daughter of the Sea

Starting bid: £196

In 2004, Music in the Round staged the world premiere of a children's Opera entitled Daughter of the Sea. It was an adaptation by composer Richard Chew of a book by Berlie Doherty (who also wrote the libretto), and the performance featured choirs and a musicians drawn from local schools. 

As with most of Viv's sculptures, this piece became what the stone wanted it to be, not what she herself directed. Viv describe how, when the piece was almost complete, she turned the head and realized it needed a fish eye. It was at this point that she remembered the Music in the Round performance, and the connection seemed to fit!

Day Composing

Starting bid: £72

As part of the Silent Auction, Viv is offering a day composing and recording on an English Alabaster lithophone that she has created. The day will be structured with guidance from musician John Adams and from Viv herself, and the resultant recording will be played at Viv's first major retrospective going up this autumn, entitled 'Source of Inspiration'. 

Having had the chance to play on this myself, I can tell you it it terrific fun! It's very easy to get to grips with and once you have started playing it is very addictive. 

In this video Viv and I talk about the day composing and playing the lithophone: https://vimeo.com/64908393.

Cipher

Starting bid: £96

'Cipher' is made of two pieces of stone, and Viv describes how they 'shivered into place' as she placed one of top of the other.

In this video Viv talks about this and about how the stone decides what it wants to be: https://vimeo.com/65164830

Facing

Starting bid: £48

In recent years Viv has developed a method of 'slicing' the alabaster to create stunning pieces that reveal the veining deep within the stone. By slicing and bringing the polish up to a high level (much higher than most sculptors), Viv also exploits the translucent qualities of this extraordinary medium. 

In this video Viv talks about this technique: https://vimeo.com/64901738#.

Ephemeral

Starting bid: £72

This work was inspired by a conversation about the moment before a leaf falls from a tree, when the stalk is partially detached and about to fall; in that moment when the potential energy of the leaf causes it to quiver.

In Ephemeral the piece of alabaster is fixed permanently in this moment of anticipation. When provoked it twists little and fast as it hangs, attached by 'invisible thread'. The curls of the wood it hangs on extends this poetry, setting the translucent 'leaf'' in a fantastical woodland.

The Power of Four

Starting bid: £96

The Power of Four (so called because it would not be what it is without any of the four pieces of alabaster that make it) is a striking 'wind chime' which rings with the heavy notes of the stone. 

Day Carving

Starting bid: £72

As part of the Auction, Viv is also offering a day at her studio carving the very last of her piece of English Alabaster to create a piece to take home. The block of stone in the top picture has been set aside and is waiting for someone to turn it into art!

The day will include tuition from Viv and will follow the pattern of working as outlines by Henry Moore (a proper lunch break and no new ideas after 4.30pm!).

Snow Melt

Starting bid: £48

'Emerging'

Starting bid: £296

'Emerging' is a natural centre piece for the sculptures created by Viv to be auctioned. It is the largest of the alabaster sculptures and has very different characters depending on the side that you look at and the quality of light around it.

When we visited Viv's studio we had a long discussion about the work. One person said it reminded herof the sea, with the sand encrusted stone of the shore above the rolling movement of waves, while another person said it reminded them of a foetus in the womb. I saw a shape like a Henry Moore Mother and Child, with an upright pose leading to a protective embrace, but that reference was only apparent when looking at it from a particular angle.