Nichola Theakston

Nichola Theakston – SCULPTURE

Our WordsWe’ve personally collected Nichola’s work for many years; it’s been some time now since wecame to regard her as arguably the foremost sculptor of animal form at work today. What Nicholacan capture through clay, and now, for the first ever time, bronze, is not just the form, but theessence of her subject. You only need look into the eyes of the primates to understand this in asecond. To see a face in profile, to see a body in motion, and sometimes to see a sadness andpride in equal measure, is to understand why she’s held in such high regard.Anyone who has been to the gallery over the last couple of years may have seen a rather largeprimate sculpture in the Adams room, a bust, positioned on the low ledge of the alcove. This isone of our own pieces, and we decided to live with it in the gallery as we seem to spend more timethere than at home! What you discover with Nichola’s work is that you never tire of living with it.There’s always more to see in different light or approached at a different angle. It keeps giving youmore and your appreciation of it grows as you live with it; that’s true testimony to her skill.Steve and ChristineNichola’s WordsThese sculptures are each unique responses to a subject, and may form a small series or body ofwork evolving over time. Working in series facilitates the pursuit of an elusive idea or gesture thatis not always captured immediately. It allows for experimentation and accident, but also adeveloping understanding of subject.Typically coil or slab built constructions, unique works are more freely conceived and less tightlyconstrained than limited edition works which may be sculpted over weeks on an armature. A slightambivalence in form may be balanced by an emphasis on emotion and expression. Very littledrawing on paper is involved and my sketchbooks now seldom used. This is more to do with afrustration of a limited ability with a pencil, but also with my impatience to just get on with it!I am a sculptor, and the sketching and 'feeling my way' comes intuitively in the 3d work; therubbing out process/ sketching in wet clay and moving it around, incising lines of proportion andsymmetry which will leave a history of construction within each sculpture, and finally theapplication of coloured slips prior to firing, a painterly approach to a 3d canvas.

Classical Horse - Division of the FieldArt Edition in TerracottaNumber 9 of 2453 x 39 cm

Crested Macaque iUnique - Black stoneware, coil built construction, applied slips25 x 13 cm

Crested Macaque iiiUnique - Black stoneware, coil built construction, applied slips27 x 16 cm

Field DanceUnique - Terracotta, slab construction with modelled additions73 cm

Fleet Hare vUnique - Terracotta, applied slips, mounted on ash plinth62 x 40 cm

Fleet Hare ivUnique - Terracotta. Slab built with additions, applied slips, mounted on Ash plinth48 x 50 cm

Her Other viiUnique - Slab and coil built terracotta with applied slips56 x 60 cm

Hare Head Study iiUnique - Terracotta with applied slips, mounted on ash plinth33 x 23 cm

Hare Head Study iiiUnique - Terracotta with applied slips, mounted on ash plinth36 x 13 cm

Red Capped Mangabey iiUnique - Black stoneware, applied slips25 x 13 cm

SilverbackBronze, number 1 of 1240 x 49 cm

Lepus ivUnique - Slab and coil built terracotta mounted on ash plinth64 x 34 cm

Painted Dog Head StudyArt edition, black stoneware, mounted on stained ash plinthNumber 11 of 2440 x 30 cm

Hare HeadUnique - Terracotta, applied slips, mounted on ash plinth37 x 21 cm

Hare HeadBronze, number 1 of 2439 x 23 cm

Beyond Him viUnique - Black stoneware and terracotta53 x 53 cm

Seated Sacred Langur with quiet hands iiUnique - Terracotta paperclay with applied slips40 x 17 cm

Still RhinoEdition, StonewareNumber 1 of 2423 x 52 cm

Cape Buffalo iiUnique - Slab built with modelled additions. Black stoneware with applied slips32 x 55 cm

Arctic BearBronze, number 1 of 1228 x 49 cm

Cheetah Head StudyUnique – Black Stoneware, applied slips44 x 34 cm

Jousting HaresArt Edition – Number 11 of 2457 x 50 cm

Castlegate House Gallerywww.castlegatehouse.co.ukthegallery@castlegatehouse.co.uk01900 82214907920 836874