In this fabulous large bronze Steve Gregory uses the familiar shape of a wreath, in a wheel of cast bronze skulls, vertebrae and other skeletal elements to symbolise the eternal...
In this fabulous large bronze Steve Gregory uses the familiar shape of a wreath, in a wheel of cast bronze skulls, vertebrae and other skeletal elements to symbolise the eternal cycle of life and death. With Gregory's witty black humour he comments on the transitory nature of the human condition and the wheel of life as time ticks by. As life and death continue to spin in the wheels of the imagination, time waits for no one.
Steven Gregory was born in Johannesburg (1952), later moving to London to study at St Martin’s College of Art (1970-72) and returning there to complete his degree in 1977. During these intervening years, Gregory was determined to engage with tools and to learn traditional skills, which led him to become an apprentice stonemason to the company Ratty and Kett where he worked on Westminster Abbey and Hampton Court. He found himself accomplished with the material of stone and obtained City and Guilds Craft certificates in masonry as well as winning the Worshipful Company of Masons Prize.
Underpinning Gregory’s work is a wicked sense of humour, always looking at his potential subjects with a mischievous glint in his eye. Gregory also has a deep interest in the macabre – since 2002, Gregory has worked extensively with bones and skulls, sourced from a scientific antiques dealer trading in skeletons once used in academic medicine. These pieces explore themes of life and death, exploring our collective anxieties around the topic as well as striking a more celebratory tone.
Gregory’s 2005 solo exhibition Skulduggery, held at the Cass Sculpture Foundation, received much critical acclaim. He has also contributed to a vast range of major group exhibitions, including Thinking Big, 21st Century British Sculpture, at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, Venice (2002-3) and Animal Fantastique at Les Amis du Doujon deVes, Paris (2002). He is also a regular exhibitor at the annual Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.
Crucible, Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire, 2010 Decadence Now!, Visions of Excess, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague 2010 Steven Gregory, Down to the Bone, Opus Art, London, 2008 Steven Gregory, Bone Stone Bronze, Nicholas Robinson Gallery, New York, 2007
Literature
Crucible, Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire, 2010 Decadence Now!, Visions of Excess, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague 2010 Steven Gregory, Down to the Bone, Opus Art, London, 2008 Steven Gregory, Bone Stone Bronze, Nicholas Robinson Gallery, New York, 2007