Gordon Herickx
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Gordon Herickx (1900–1953) was an English sculptor.


Biography

Born in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, one of seven children of gem setter Emile Herickx and his wife Martha, Herickx won a scholarship in 1914 to study under
William Bloye William James Bloye (8 July 1890 – 6 June 1975) was an English sculptor, active in Birmingham either side of World War II. After serving in World War I, Bloye studied and later taught at the Birmingham School of Art. Becoming a member of t ...
at the
Birmingham School of Art The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design a ...
, completing his studies after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He assisted Bloye on projects such as the 1933 carvings of the church of St. Francis of Assisi,
Bournville Bournville () is a 19th century model village on the southwest side of Birmingham, England, founded by the Quaker Cadbury family for employees at its Cadbury's factory, and designed to be a "garden" (or "model") village where the sale of alc ...
, and executed his own commissions, such as the carvings around the entrance to the
Barber Institute of Fine Arts The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham. The listed building, Grade I listed Art Deco building was desi ...
, from his studio in
Moseley Moseley ( ') is an affluent suburb in south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. It is located within the eponymous Moseley ward of the constituency of Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley (UK Parliament constituency), Hall Green and ...
. Herickx taught at the Walsall College of Art from 1945 until his death. Herickx worked mainly in cast bronze or carved Hoptonwood or Hornton stone, working slowly and destroying work he considered imperfect. His early pieces included a series of biomorphic abstractions of
corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
,
cyclamen ''Cyclamen'' ( or ) is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. In English, it is known by the common names sowbread or swinebread. ''Cyclamen'' species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin ea ...
and
chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...
buds completed in the 1930s, with later work including a series of figure studies made in the 1950s. Aside from Bloye his sculpture showed the influence of
Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian sculptor, painter, and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century and a pioneer of modernism ...
and
Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as "the greatest artist-craftsma ...
. Herickx's first solo exhibition was held in London in July 1953, but he died in Birmingham the night after the show's opening. A memorial exhibition was held in October–November that year in Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Herickx's friends in Birmingham included the Birmingham Group of writers and poets and the Birmingham surrealist painters
Conroy Maddox Conroy Maddox (27 December 1912 – 14 January 2005) was an English surrealist painter, collagist, writer and lecturer; and a key figure in the Birmingham Surrealist movement.Morris, Desmond (2018), ''The Lives of the Surrealists''. He wa ...
and
John Melville John William Melville (25 August 1902 – 8 December 1986) was a self-taught British Surrealism, Surrealist painter. He is described by Michel Remy in his book ''Surrealism in Britain'' as one of the "harbingers of surrealism" in Great Britain ...
. The poet
Louis MacNeice Frederick Louis MacNeice (12 September 1907 – 3 September 1963) was an Irish poet, playwright and producer for the BBC. Known for its exploration of introspection, empiricism, and belonging, his poetic work is now ranked among the twentieth ...
included Herickx as the character "Wimbush" in his autobiographical poem ''Autumn Sequel''.


See also

* Birmingham Artists Committee


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herickx, Gordon 1900 births 1953 deaths English sculptors English male sculptors Artists from Birmingham, West Midlands 20th-century English sculptors Alumni of the Birmingham School of Art