teresa wells MRSS

Statement

With an ethical consciousness, I create work that examines the contradictions of human action and thought, in an attempt to survive.  Rule breaking, disconcerted relationships, miscommunication, isolation, vulnerability, and fragility fascinate: as do tenacity, ingenuity, forgiveness and strength. I use the medium of sculpture to express that it is our whole selves complete with flaws that make us compelling.

Biography

I obtained a first class honors degree in Fine Art from Nottingham Trent University, 1996, and undertook postgraduate studies at Loughborough University, where my tutors included John Atkin FRBS and Dan Archer FRBS.

I have worked on large-scale sculptures 4 meters high and at a more intimate scale 30 cm in mixed media. My early sculptures were constructed from mild steel, using a variety of ready-made fixings such as nuts and bolts and silk ribbon. The materials were used metaphorically as I made vessels. These expressions of the body conveyed the relationship between our inner and outer selves, strength and fragility, the hidden and vulnerable. The fascination with contradictions emerged from learning about cultural practices; studies by anthropologists such as Nigel Barley (Smashing Pots), and Mary Douglas (Purity and Danger) and the zoologist Desmond Morris (Man Watching). Trained originally as an illustrator, I work in a Baroque style. Influenced by Bernini, Anthony Gormley, Phillip King, Cathy de Monchaux, and Grayson Perry. Currently working in bronze I like to place figurative forms in precarious positions using strong geometric steel shapes as supports.

A multi award-winning sculptor (‘Mind Body Spirit’ International Art – Competition.net, Best in show, APT Deptford 2015, Nominated by Richard Deacon CBE, Silver Gilt Award at Chelsea Flower Show 2022 and Gold at Blenheim 2021), I sell through various gallery platforms in the UK and USA, with work in the permanent collection of The Robert T Webb Sculpture Park, Georgia, USA.

I work to commission with clients including Juliet Sargeant, Blue Peter, BBC1 and Netflix, , AK designs, Best and Lloyd Lighting Design Ltd. and various private clients.

Press includes:  BBC coverage of Arthur for Blue Peter Garden 2022, The Times Newspaper May 2022, I Weekend June 2021; BBC1 Home is where the Art is. Netflix – Drama series Dracula, Flux Review Magazine 2021, CAKE 2020 and London Live 2018 amongst others.