Material Alchemy: Tom Price Uncovers Narratives in Sculptural Form

17 hours ago7 min read5 comments

In the contemporary gallery space, the sculptures of Tom Price command attention not as silent objects, but as dynamic performers. Acting as a material alchemist, Price forges a profound dialogue between substance and story, allowing the innate character of his mediums to dictate the final form.His process is one of collaboration with the material itself, where recycled plastics are transformed into fluid, figurative extrusions and molten aluminum solidifies into abstract, geological maps. This body of work exists in a compelling space where figuration and abstraction are not opposing forces, but harmonious partners.A prime example is his 'Carbon Series,' where the industrial rigidity of carbon fiber is coerced into soft, biological shapes, creating a tangible tension between the synthetic and the organic that mirrors our own complex ecological entanglements. Price elevates the artistic process, treating material imperfections—a captured air bubble, an unexpected crack—not as failures but as co-authors in the creative act.While his embrace of material unpredictability recalls the pioneering work of artists like Eva Hesse, Price's focus is urgently modern, rooted in themes of consumption and sustainability. He does not simply use materials; he interrogates them, unearthing their hidden histories.A block of bitumen coal is transformed into a geological relic; woven strands of discarded electrical cable form a figure that speaks to our hyper-connected lives. In Price's hands, meaning is not imposed from without, but excavated from within the material through a practice that demands both technical mastery and deep respect.The resulting sculptures are visceral and theatrical, refusing passive observation. They compel viewers to contemplate the life cycles of the objects that define our world, to find elegance in the overlooked, and to recognize that the most powerful narratives are often conveyed not through literal imagery, but through the raw, eloquent language of material itself—a language for which Tom Price is a preeminent interpreter.

#Sculpture

#Tom Price

#Material Experimentation

#Figuration

#Abstraction

#Contemporary Art

#Artist Interview

#featured

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