Warrick Kemp

Born in Cape Town in 1968, Warrick is a self-taught artist who first attempted sculpture in his early twenties. He was drawn to the physical, tactile nature of sculpture, where he could capture his thoughts and feelings in three-dimensional forms of self-expression.

Prior to 1996, Warrick studied anatomy, biomechanics and movement studies, and worked in the health and fitness industry before traveling and working in Africa and England. Sculpting was never far from his mind, and on his return to Cape Town in 1995, Warrick set up a studio and bought the equipment which allowed him to work with various metals.

Warrick began sculpting in metal and immediately found a strong connection. His early sculptures used the human form as a point of reference, with dance often being the focus. His work has naturally progressed towards abstraction – ‘before work can begin on a sculpture, I undergo an intense period of research and self-reflection. Philosophy is the driving force behind my work. Questioning the critical aspects of man’s relationship to himself, his fellow man and his environment, provides me with creative inspiration, and the form begins to reveal itself.’

Commenting on his 2005 sculpture, Raging Bull, Warrick said, ‘… dance and movement are still key. The bull, enraged, is almost turning on itself, surging upwards to heavy shoulders and a massive neck. I like to use these folded curves, creating in them a symmetry, which emphasises both power and vulnerability in the bull. Symmetry is at the core of my expression; the line must be in harmony and echo the message throughout the sculpture.’

Exhibitions:

The Arts Association of Bellville, November 2000
In this, Warrick’s first exhibition, he experimented with three methods of construction; line, closed form and fragmented. This body of work represented the years 1998 to 2000.
In her opening address, Edwine Simon, Director of the Ruth Prowse College of Art and Design, said about Warrick’s sculptures:
‘The simplicity of the human form is not a mannerism. These expressive shapes are linear, they are fragmented, and it is this fragmented building up of the form which expresses both the emotion of mood and movement.
‘There is a very strong and powerful balance of both negative and positive forms. In the linear works, as in all the work, we have a richness in the material, and the significant use of open space which helps to create the undulating emotional movement of his forms.’
Evita se Perron, Darling, December 2001
Hout Street Gallery, Paarl, January 2002
Johans Borman Fine Art Gallery, Art that Inspires, August 2009
Johans Borman Fine Art Gallery, The Pigs are Coming, November 2009
Johans Borman Fine Art Gallery, Group show: Aspects of Abstraction II, May 2016

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