300px, ''Compton Triptych'' The Compton Triptych comprises three

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta i ...

portrait heads,

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

ed together, which celebrates the parish of

Compton, Guildford Compton is a village and civil parish in the Guildford district of Surrey, England. It is between Godalming and Guildford. It has a medieval church and a close connection to fine art and pottery, being the later life home of artist George Fred ...

, and the diverse figures who have contributed to this Surrey community. Using local clay from the foundations of the pottery of Mary Wondrausch this was unveiled in November 2011 at The Human Clay exhibition,

Lewis Elton Gallery The Lewis Elton Gallery was an art gallery at the University of Surrey's Guildford campus, which hosted exhibitions, lectures and events including sculpture, paintings and photographs. The Gallery was also responsible for the maintaining the Uni ...

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institu ...

Meet the artist: ''Surrey Life'', November 2011 p. 155, Archant Press after sittings with sculptor

Jon Edgar Jon Edgar is a British sculptor of the Frink School. Improvisation is an important part of his reductive working process and developed from the additive working process of Alan Thornhill. Final works are often autobiographical, perhaps referenc ...

in 2010 and 2011. The heads include G. F. Watts expert

Richard Jefferies John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influ ...

, artist/historian Mary Wondrausch and community stalwart Jane Turner, selected by the artist after a local public appeal for suggestions for the third element of the Triptych. A

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divide ...

combines three formal elements more commonly used in

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, and this sculptural grouping was first used by

for the Environment Triptych of 2008, after the combination of three heads seemed to create a composition which added another dimension to the work.

References

External links

text of Surrey University Exhibition leaflet Nov 2011; narrative of Compton Triptych
{{sculpture-stub Culture in Surrey English sculpture 2011 sculptures Portraits of historical figures Terracotta sculptures in Australia