Anthony Abrahams
b. 1926
Anthony Abrahams is a figurative sculptor working in the tradition of modern masters such as Armitage, Butler, Chadwick, Frink and Meadows. The exaggeration of some features and the repression of others, unified by formal and textural qualities, give his sculpture a personal and expressive quality.
His female figures have many characteristics that link them back to early cultures. The Stone Age Venus of Willendorf c.1600 BC, carved from limestone, is endowed with a large, pregnant belly and generous breast. She is a totem and symbol of fertility. So it is with the female forms of Anthony Abrahams, but his pieces are much lighter and are decidedly of the twentieth century.
A unique celebration of advancing years is found in many of Abrahams’ figures. Male and female become more alike with age, sagging breats and expanding middles, yet Abrahams’ subjects are full of movelment cavorting, playing, skating or leaping they defy the geriatric stereotype and adhere fast to the idea that we remain youthful and energetic in our minds regardless of age. These sculptures are the perfect antidote to ageism and in celebrating the human spirit as well as our worn bodies, Abrahams provides us with works of life affirming warmth and beauty.
Abrahams’ sculptures are made initially in plaster on wood and steel armatures and are then cast in the last wax process. This accurately preserves the texture of the work, revealing all the scratches and chisel marks made by Abrahams through his technique of working back the form through a reductive carving process.
Abrahams’ work is held in private collections in the U.K., U.S.A. and Europe and he has a number of works on show at the Cass Sculpture Foundation at Good wood. His most recent major work Ozymandias, can be seen in the foyer of Kings Place and was specially commissioned for the building.
