Jonathan Prince
Jonathan Prince’s sculptures are full of contradictions as they evoke the work of 20th century masters while referencing ancient artifacts. His work is principally concerned with exposing a material’s latent power, many suggesting the fluid quality of metal in liquid form but captured in a solid state. Ellipses, spheres and cubes are intentionally interrupted by the artists hand to infer the discovery of something ancient. Prince refers to this body of work as "Fragments” where he suggests a form, but does not fully fabricate the piece. His partial creation allows the mind to complete recognizable shapes, asking his audience to be active viewers. Many sculptures appear to be torn, allowing Prince to introduce a wholly different surface, imbuing the work with a dynamic quality of evolving, of genesis. His intelligent use of steel is key to the visual success of these works; the oxidized or polished steel form is incised to introduce an interplay of surface texture and patina that connotes an improbable plasticity to the material.
Dorthy Joiner (Sculpture Magazine, August 2012) commented: “While Plato considered the objects of sensuous reality to be mere shadows and saw perfection only in geometric forms apprehended by the intellect, Prince prefers …
Jonathan Prince’s sculptures are full of contradictions as they evoke the work of 20th century masters while referencing ancient artifacts. His work is principally concerned with exposing a material’s latent power, many suggesting the fluid quality of metal in liquid form but captured in a solid state. Ellipses, spheres and cubes are intentionally interrupted by the artists hand to infer the discovery of something ancient. Prince refers to this body of work as "Fragments” where he suggests a form, but does not fully fabricate the piece. His partial creation allows the mind to complete recognizable shapes, asking his audience to be active viewers. Many sculptures appear to be torn, allowing Prince to introduce a wholly different surface, imbuing the work with a dynamic quality of evolving, of genesis. His intelligent use of steel is key to the visual success of these works; the oxidized or polished steel form is incised to introduce an interplay of surface texture and patina that connotes an improbable plasticity to the material.
Dorthy Joiner (Sculpture Magazine, August 2012) commented: “While Plato considered the objects of sensuous reality to be mere shadows and saw perfection only in geometric forms apprehended by the intellect, Prince prefers a marriage of form and accident, the one complimenting the other. And to this union - to borrow from Yeats - a “terrible beauty is born.”
Courtesy of Sponder Gallery
