‘HEWN’
Joy Bonfield – Colombara
The definition of Hewn is to chop or shape something, such as wood or stone.
This hewn ‘texture’ you will find in most hand carved pieces by sculptors such as Michelangelo, Barbera Hepworth and Rodin. Sometimes the surfaces would be made completely smooth using a rasp – and the hewn lines would only be in the base or edges of the piece. Michelangelo’s later work, notably ‘la Pieta Di Rondanini’ is covered in these ‘Hewn’ lines.
Joy BC’s Father is a sculptor, who’s lineage dates back to 12th century stone masons.
Watching her father carve as a child and running her little fingers over his works informed her technique from a young age.
Joy BC’s first encounter with Michelangelo's Rondanini Pietà left a proverbial and perhaps literal mark. The artwork - a marble sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary holding Christ’s emaciated body - was the last piece Michelangelo made before his death and the third version of the Pietà. Unlike his first, in which the marble had been worked to a super-smooth texture - a proof-point of skill at the time - the Rondanini Pietà bears multiple carving marks, lines, scratches, notches and scars that allow the presence of the artist's hand to live on in the piece. This indication of process and human involvement moved Joy, “Those lines, the texture, instantly reminded me of the lines on my father’s sculptures, and I felt something knowing that this piece had been made by hand. I come from a line of stonemasons and I have always had an affinity with natural materials such as wood, metal and stone – all of which I now work with.”
It’s these stone carving process marks that first informed Joy’s style of drawing - mimicking the chisel cuts in ink pen and pencil - and later her signature texture - tiny gorged lines - which often features in her work.
To see more of the ‘Hewn’ pieces please contact the studio.
HEWN
HEWN
‘HEWN’
Joy Bonfield – Colombara
The definition of Hewn is to chop or shape something, such as wood or stone.
This hewn ‘texture’ you will find in most hand carved pieces by sculptors such as Michelangelo, Barbera Hepworth and Rodin. Sometimes the surfaces would be made completely smooth using a rasp – and the hewn lines would only be in the base or edges of the piece. Michelangelo’s later work, notably ‘la Pieta Di Rondanini’ is covered in these ‘Hewn’ lines.
Joy BC’s Father is a sculptor, who’s lineage dates back to 12th century stone masons.
Watching her father carve as a child and running her little fingers over his works informed her technique from a young age.
Joy BC’s first encounter with Michelangelo's Rondanini Pietà left a proverbial and perhaps literal mark. The artwork - a marble sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary holding Christ’s emaciated body - was the last piece Michelangelo made before his death and the third version of the Pietà. Unlike his first, in which the marble had been worked to a super-smooth texture - a proof-point of skill at the time - the Rondanini Pietà bears multiple carving marks, lines, scratches, notches and scars that allow the presence of the artist's hand to live on in the piece. This indication of process and human involvement moved Joy, “Those lines, the texture, instantly reminded me of the lines on my father’s sculptures, and I felt something knowing that this piece had been made by hand. I come from a line of stonemasons and I have always had an affinity with natural materials such as wood, metal and stone – all of which I now work with.”
It’s these stone carving process marks that first informed Joy’s style of drawing - mimicking the chisel cuts in ink pen and pencil - and later her signature texture - tiny gorged lines - which often features in her work.
To see more of the ‘Hewn’ pieces please contact the studio.
