Peter Randall-Page

Gibberd Gallery Harlow, Essex
www.gibbergallery.co.uk

This extravagant and vibrant exhibition of carvings, bronzes, works on paper and maquettes sees the work of Essex born and internationally renowned artist Peter Randall-Page RA come to the East of England for the very first time at the Gibberd Gallery, managed by the Harlow Art Trust. The gallery will be transformed into a journey through Peter’s artistic transitions allowing visitors to examine techniques close up and investigate their beginnings in the natural world and the mathematics which are within each form. The journey begins with the stone carving Warp and Woof placed in The Water Gardens, creating a unique marker and a starting point for visitors to this ground-breaking show.

Peter delves into the mathematics of natural forms exploring patterns, camouflage and symmetry as well as its sensuality and inherent rhythm leading to a distinct and robust body of work each tangibly connected but distinctly unique. Peter’s enquiring working process leads to passionate study of forms and theory of patternation within nature. Pattern is usually a term used for the application of decoration to a surface of an object. Peter’s exploration of the term and its fundamentality for natures existence brings a whole new meaning to pattern, being used within not just the aesthetics of the work but is concept and meaning. Sketchbooks and ephemera show his working and application of study to practical objects.

Stand out works include the ceramic mosaic Wing (2009) which magnifies the intricate cellular structure of a grasshopper wing with each tile representing a single cell, this allows us to see the invisible in a solid and textured form. The series of three bronze works Theme and Variation juxtaposes order and randomness cleverly created with the use of a natural boulder with thousands of ping pong balls attached in a regular pattern following the depression and rises of the original stone. Cast in bronze and painted in black these deep and alluring sculptures intrigue with their uniformed nodules and dark matter quality.