Spadge Hopkins Artist
Spadge’s first serious works were conceptual. The
Machin(sic)
series are made of found mechanical components in order to explore questions of value.
Adapting the Nouveau Realiste aesthetic that favoured the use of everyday and discarded objects for poetic ends, they have been purposely made from many perfectly serviceable, valuable and high specification components. The sculptures are also an expression of Spadge’s appreciation of the form and function of mechanical components that are so often unseen when they are performing their intended task.
His
Copper Sculptures
are variously figurative and explore two of the binaries of sculpture; volume and void; whilst playing with the use of light and shadow and whose form is also influenced by the work of Alexander Calder.
Spadge enjoys the various colours of copper, particularly after heat treatment and lacquer, the combination of the metal with the shining solder and the fluidity of the shapes achievable with this type of construction. Movement is a conscious theme in his natural history subjects whereas other pieces often concern mystery and the evocation of the past.
A public art, rock-music themed commission for the City of Cambridge in 2016 and a continuing fascination with the subject, movement and shadow has led Spadge into producing a unique series of drawings, laser cut in metal which he calls his
'
Rock Faces '
.
These are lit in various ways and often move within the piece via small electric motors.
Spadge has also curated a number of exhibitions. He now lives and works in a in a rambling array of barns and sheds in Suffolk. He is Ex Chair of Waveney and Blyth Arts, on the Committee of Suffolk Open Studios and a member of various East Anglian Art Groups. He maintains strong links with London, Cambridge, East Anglia and the West Country.
Spadge Hopkins creates on a full time basis, informed by experience gained during a creative career that involved leadership, product design, the music industry and automotive engineering. Currently he tends to work in three dimensions and in metal.
He has been practicing and studying autodidactically, producing varied work since the 1980s. Recent exhibitions include Ipswich, Cambridge and Mayfair as well as Public art in Cambridge,Woodbridge and various outdoor sculpture trails.
Influences include Duchamp, David Smith and Calder. Having worked with found metal objects, copper and also with rock music themes; he is currently exploring silhouette and shadow and producing 3D visualisations of animals and birds from relatively thin metal.
Artworks can be purchased from the artist. Please contact Spadge directly if you wish to make an enquiry.
Sculptures are all available as indoor or outdoor sculptures.
The indoor sculptures can be scaled up and surface treated to allow them to live outdoors.
Many of Spadge’s pieces are unique. Several of his copper sculptures have been hand made in a limited batch of 5. The process of laser cutting which is all done by Spadge himself except for the actual machine work, lends itself to mass-production. However, all Spadge’s designs are limited to a run of 10, no matter what size. They are now marked as ev (edition Variee) */10 as well as being signed.
