Angela Conner FRSS (born 1935) is an English sculptor who works in London. Conner has exhibited internationally and has large scale sculptures in public and private collections around the world.

Biography

In her early life as a sculptor, Conner assisted Barbara Hepworth. She works in a wide range of materials including marble, steel, stone and perspex, with many of her sculptures incorporating water as an integral feature. Conner's

kinetic Kinetic (Ancient Greek: κίνησις “kinesis”, movement or to move) may refer to: * Kinetic theory of gases, Kinetic theory, describing a gas as particles in random motion * Kinetic energy, the energy of an object that it possesses due to i ...

sculptures are concerned with utilizing "natural elements like water, sun, gravity or wind to create mobiles that entice viewers to stop and watch their gentle movement". The movement of Conner's sculptures entirely depend on the natural forces they react with and not electricity. "If mankind were suddenly to die out, and if as a result there were no artificial power, the sculpture would still continue its pattern of opening and revealing, then closing and embracing" -Rob Cassy garden designer describing 'Revelation'; declared one of England's best water features by Country Life magazine. Revelation Sculpture

Unfortunately, despite claims that her sculptures would still continue to function sans human life, in reality electricity powers her sculptures and they are connected to a water utility rather than a spring or artesian well. In her long career, Conner has created many notable large scale kinetic sculptures which are entirely powered by natural forces. Conner's 129 ft water and wind sculpture 'Wave' at Park West Dublin is possibly the tallest kinetic water and wind sculpture in Europe. Irish Wave at Park West in Dublin

Rising Universe (Shelley Fountain) - geograph

Conner is also well known for her enigmatic figurative work modeled from life, which "on an intimate and personal level probe the character behind the mask". Conner has created posthumous portraits, but prefers to work from life, -"working from life is a form, perhaps, of an osmosis. It has to be done by instinct; its not something you can do intellectually." Chatsworth House has a collection of 14 bronze busts located in the grounds, including portraits of

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...

, the Eleventh Duke of Devonshire, Harold Macmillan,

Roy Strong Sir Roy Colin Strong, (born 23 August 1935) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has served as director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. ...

, HRH the Prince of Wales, Camilla Parker-Bowles and John Betjeman. Conner was commissioned to sculpt from life Queen Elizabeth II by the

Knights of the Garter A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

to mark the Queen's 80th birthday. Conner's statue of Laurence Olivier playing Hamlet was commissioned to celebrate the centenary of his birth and is located on the South Bank opposite the National Theatre. In 1982 Conner created a memorial fountain to honour those repatriated as a result of the

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...

following World War II. These were Russian and Eastern European people who were forceably repatriated to the USSR, often facing torture and execution. The first memorial from 1982 was a tilting water sculpture made of Hopton Stone, located on the north side of

Thurloe Square Thurloe Square is a traditional garden square in South Kensington, London, England. There are private communal gardens in the centre of the square for use by the local residents. The Victoria and Albert Museum is close by to the north acros ...

opposite the Vicitoria and Albert Museum. It was repeatedly damaged, so Connor raised funds for a second memorial, '' Twelve Responses to Tragedy'' which was dedicated in 1986. The monument stands in the Yalta Memorial Garden in South Kensington. She has work in a number of US public collections including the Jewish Museum, New York and the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburg. Her work Quartet, for Heinx Hall Plaza Pittsburg, uses the weight of water flowing to make the four stainless steel shapes move in a regular rhythm. Twelve Responses to Tragedy by Angela Conner - geograph

Twelve Responses to Tragedy by Angela Conner - geograph

Conner is married to the photographer John Bulmer who often videos and photographs her sculptures. The couple live at Monnington on Wye, where they breed and train Morgan horses.

Commissions

Kinetic Sculptures

*'Revelation', Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, England *' Rising Universe', also known as Cosmic Cycle or the Shelley Fountain, Horsham, West Sussex, England (demolished 2016) *'Big Tipper', Bad Driburg Spa Gardens, Germany *'Libra',

Lovells Hogan Lovells is an American-British law firm co-headquartered in London and Washington, DC. The firm was formed in 2010 by the merger of the American law firm Hogan & Hartson and the British law firm Lovells. It employs about 2,400 lawyers a ...

, London *'Wave', Park West, Dublin, Ireland *'Threshold', Darlington Arts Centre, Darlington, County Durham, England *'Arpeggio',

Heinz Hall Heinz Hall is a performing arts center and concert hall located at 600 Penn Avenue in the Cultural District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Home to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, the 2,676 sea ...

Plaza,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, USA *'Life Force',

Boughton House Boughton House is a country house in the parish of Weekley in Northamptonshire, England, situated about north-east of Kettering. It is situated within an estate of . The present house was built by Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu (d.1709), ...

, Northamptonshire, England. *'Poise',

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, England; Park West, Ireland; Chattanooga, USA *'Tipping Triangles',

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first ...

, Birmingham, England *'Renaissance',

Hatfield House Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house, a leading example of the prodigy house, was built in 1611 by Robert Cec ...

, Hertfordshire, England

Figurative Work

*Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, Commissioned by the

for The Queen's 80th birthday * Laurence Olivier Statue, National Theatre, South Bank, London Statue of Laurence Olivier, South Bank, London

for the centenary of Olivier's birth *

The Queen Mother ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, Cheltenham Racecourse * Charles de Gaulle,

Carlton Gardens The Carlton Gardens is a World Heritage Site located on the northeastern edge of the Central Business District in the suburb of Carlton, in Melbourne, Australia. A popular picnic and barbecue area, the heritage-listed Carlton Gardens are home ...

, London *

David Stirling Sir Archibald David Stirling (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British army, a mountaineer, and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). He saw active service during the Second World War. ...

, Doune, Scotland, and Hereford, England *

Elisabeth Frink Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink (14 November 1930 – 18 April 1993) was an English sculptor and printmaker. Her ''Times'' obituary noted the three essential themes in her work as "the nature of Man; the 'horseness' of horses; and the divine in ...

, Bronze Head, Chatsworth House * Noël Coward Statue, at

Firefly Estate Firefly Estate, located east of Oracabessa, Jamaica, is the burial place of Sir Noël Coward and his former holiday home. It is now listed as a National Heritage Site by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. Although the setting is Edenic, the ho ...

, Jamaica *

*Collections 14 of Angela Conner's Bronze Busts at Chatsworth House

Exhibitions

Solo Shows

*American Museum, Bath 2018 *Galerie Piece Unique, Paris 2008 *Inner Temple Gardens, Embankment, London 2004 *'The Chaos Factor', Browse and Darby, London 1989 *'Sculptures for Landscape', Browse and Darby, London 1986 *Hirschl Gallery, Cork St, London *Library and Museum of the Performing Arts, Lincoln Centre, New York 1971 *The Economist Plaza, London

Group Shows

*Sculpture in the Garden 2014: 'The Visionary Landscape of Professor Sir Robert Burgess', Leicester University 2014 *'Elemental', Burghley Sculpture Garden 2014 *'A Celebration of Modern British Sculpture' Beaux Arts, Cork St, London 2012 * The Jerwood Collection,

Ragley Hall Ragley Hall in the parish of Arrow in Warwickshire is a stately home, located south of Alcester and eight miles (13 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon. It is the ancestral seat of the Seymour-Conway family, Marquesses of Hertford. History ...

2011

Awards and honors

*Kinetic Art Organisation Award 1st Prize
Allianz Business 2 Art Award
for Wave sculpture in West Park, Dublin, Ireland *

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

, Honor Award for Sculpture and Co-design of Plaza Garden, Heinz Hall Pittsburgh U.S.A. 1985 *

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Award for Refurbishment to Town Centre *Fellow of The

Royal British Society of Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors is a British charity established in 1905 which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. Its headquarters are a centre for contemporary sculpture on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London. It ...

*2013 Fellow of the Hereford College of Art *Pratt Legends Award, New York 2016. *Shortlisted for 2018 Marsh Award for excellence in public fountains for 'Renaissance', Hatfield House, Hertfordshire. UK

References

External links

*
Portraits and Busts by Angela ConnerAngela Conner FRSS
Royal Society of Sculptors {{DEFAULTSORT:Conner, Angela 1935 births Living people 20th-century British sculptors 21st-century British sculptors 20th-century English women artists 21st-century English women artists English contemporary artists English women sculptors Modern sculptors