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Discovering the work of Beth Carter came as joy mingled with relief. As a lover of classical art; the paintings, sculptures and drawings of the old masters, I often felt let down by contemporary figuration. Sometimes the technique was poor and sometimes the subject matter seemed dull and literal.
Often these failings combined to confirm a feeling that figuration was 'dead'. Or at least in painting and sculpture, 'irrelevant'. Yet most of the contemporary alternatives to figuration left me cold and dissatisfied.
When I first encountered Carters' sculptures and drawings I was thrilled to be able to admire the classic figurative technique of a contemporary artist without the slightest sense of the academic or anachronistic.
Carters' work is fresh and authentic. It is both daringly simple and deeply resonant. This is a result, of course, of her subject matter. She poeticises the figure by creating eerie composite creatures. Whether cast in bronze or drawn in charcoal,the work, it seems to me, breaks down into either the lyrical single figure or the dramatic interaction of two or more figures. Her single figures, naked men with perfectly integrated animal heads: bull, horse, bear, fox, rabbit, all seem lost in contemplation of the mystery of their own existence.
The dramatic configurations are fabulous and thus exotic. We are like Alice through the looking glass, propelled into a dreamworld overflowing with marvellous creatures thoroughly absorbed in their own encounters with each other. This ‘Carter world’ is exciting, magic-fuelled, utterly mysterious yet completely realised. The bold and beautiful visions of Beth Carter help us dream the mythology of our own existence.
It is a rare pleasure to encounter contemporary art that resonates with such depth of meaning.
Roddy McDevitt
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the artists'
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Kneeling Minotaur
Edition of 15
Bronze |
Centaur
Edition of 19
Bronze |
Free Reign
Edition of 15
Bronze |
Horse Child
Edition of 15
Bronze Resin |
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Kneeling Horse
Edition of 15
Bronze Resin |
Sandman
Edition of 15
Bronze Resin |
Minotaur & Bunnygirl
Edition of 15
Bronze |
Monkey & Hare
Edition of 15
Bronze Resin |
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Minotaur sleeping
Edition of 15
Cement fondu |
Minotaur reading
Edition of 25
Bronze, Lead & gold |
Bull with flowers
Edition of 15
Bronze resin |
Donkey
Edition of 15
Bronze |
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Man in the Moon
Edition of 15
Bronze |
Leading the giant
Charcoal on paper |
Minotaur, Bull & Bunnygirl
Charcoal on paper |
Duchy
Charcoal on paper |
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The wishing bed
Charcoal on paper |
Skipping girl
Graphite on paper |
Lovely, ugly Princess
Charcoal on paper |
The Magic Horse
Charcoal on paper |
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I want to do right, but not right now
Charcoal on paper |
Bull and Jester
Edition of 15
Bronze resin |
Fairy
Edition of 15
Bronze |
Lion Man
Edition of 15
Bronze |
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Pee Pee Man
Edition of 15
Bronze |
Horsechild
Edition of 15
Marble resin pigment |
Sun Monkey
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Satyr
Edition of 9
Bronze |
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Clown
Edition of 9
Bronze resin |
Standing Horse
Edition of 25
Bronze resin |
Lamb
Calico wadding |
Ghost
Calico wadding & steel |
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Stag
Edition of 15
Bronze resin |
Thursday's monkey
Chamois leather |
Bull & rider
Edition of 15
Cement fondu |
Minotaur & skipping girl
Drypoint |
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Minotaur & Bunnygirl
Charcoal on paper |
Satyr with his girlfriend
Drypoint |
A little spell
Drypoint |
Petticoat dreams
Charcoal on paper |
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Waiting room
Charcoal on paper |
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