To the Hignell Gallery, St James's, to explore another installation staged as part of London Craft Week, featuring the wonderful woven willow works of artist Laura Ellen Bacon. These dynamic sculptures are usually created on a large scale as site-specific interventions within or around architectural venues, or out in natural landscape settings. This particular exhibition contains a large sculptural piece that interacts with the very fabric of the building itself, wrapping itself around the corner of a gallery room within the historic interior of the architecture situated in Marquis House on Jermyn Street. Bacon works intuitively with her natural willow source material, and as with all artists and craftspeople who have an instinctive rapport with their chosen medium she is able to exploit the willows inherent qualities creating flowing rhythmic works of art full of texture, pattern and also smell. The natural scent of the willow pervades the gallery in a way I haven't experienced with any other artist since the heady, earthy aromas of the natural fibres used in the sculptures at the Magdalena Abakanowicz retrospective at Tate Modern last year (here). As well as the scent emanating from the sculptures, the deft handling of the weaving of Bacon's willow works produced some great shadow patterns on the walls adding a new dimension to the sculptures. Many of the pieces on display resembled cocoons or havens, places of womb-like shelter to envelope and protect. Others to my eye resembled pieces of sleek, modernist furniture, organic forms to cradle and support the human frame. It was a real pleasure to finally get to experience these sculptures first-hand in London, and gain a familiarity with an artist who is undoubtedly a master of her craft.
Laura Ellen Bacon: Burrow
until 31st May
Hignell Gallery
Marquis House
68 Jermyn Street
St. James's
London
SW1
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