Lot 72: † Nic Fiddian-Green Still Water Hand beaten

† Nic Fiddian-Green Still Water Hand beaten lead on bronze base Signed and numbered 4/5 295cms.; 116ins high This sculpture by Nic Fiddian-Green was displayed in the VIP Prestige Ticket Pavilion at the Olympic Arena at Greenwich which was the venue for all of the equestrian events in which the British team won three gold one silver and one bronze medal . Nic Fiddian-Green was born in Hampshire in 1963. He graduated from Wimbledon School of Art London with a BA in Sculpture and went on to attain his MA at St. Martin's School of Art where he also took a Diploma in Advanced Lost Wax Casting. He is without doubt Britain's most well known Equestrian sculptor working primarily in bronze and in beaten lead. He held his first exhibition in 1986 and has since been in demand by galleries and collectors alike: his work is now shown regularly in London New York and Australia. One of the keys to Fiddian-Green's work is his love of materials expressed in the fact that - unusually amongst contemporary sculptors - he casts his own work. Having earned his diploma in bronze-casting he put this into practice in 1992 when he was commissioned to carry out a project in Gozo the neighbouring island to Malta and he set up his own foundry there to carry it out. Inspired by this experience he continues to cast his own sculptures collaborating closely with his founders for major pieces (his largest commissions can reach a height of 30 feet). In the words of his London dealer Gerry Farrell 'his studio resembles a blacksmith's shop more than an academician's atelier'. Fiddian-Green's work despite its classical roots and sensibility is worked: hewn and scooped hammered and riveted. He deals with mass held in torsion: even in repose his works quiver with energy under restraint. Critics have compared his work to Rodin's and it is easy to see why. For Fiddian-Green a sculpture is not deemed finished when the clay model is sent off to a foundry to be reproduced as an edition of bronzes as if in a factory. For him each piece in an edition is a new enterprise which he casts from molten metal or moulds from sheets of weathered lead. He then modifies refines and patinates worrying at it until a unique work of art emerges. Fiddian-Green does not make multiples. Each piece is a distinct work whole unto itself and conceived to convey its own message and mood. The last few years have seen a proliferation of his work in many famous locations and collections including the iconic 30 foot high bronze horse's head installed at Marble Arch in 2008 on which the present lot is based. This June saw three pieces 'The Roman Horse' 'Energy' & 'Horse at Water' varying in height from 13 to 15 feet installed in the Royal Enclosure and Grandstand of Royal Ascot Racecourse whilst in July a brand new enormous and striking sculpture |Fire| was unveiled at Glorious Goodwood; the sculpture dominates the grandstand looking down across the top of the South Downs towards the spire of Chichester Cathedral and out to sea. Further afield in France a version of Still Water was installed at the world famous Deauville race course whilst in Italy. Finally In Italy two new works were unveiled on the hills above the castle on the legendary and beautiful Castello di Reschio Estate in Umbria.
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