Born on the Isle of Man in 1930, Bryan Kneale was educated at the Douglas School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools in London, where he was awarded the prestigious Rome Prize in painting. After extensive travel in Italy, he made the decisive shift from painting to metal sculpture in the early 1960s, learning to forge and weld and embracing a direct, hands-on way of working in which ideas were realised through the act of making itself.

'Sloc II' is a compelling example of this pivotal period. Executed in brass, the sculpture sets taut, angular planes against sinuous, almost organic curves, creating a dynamic sense of tension and balance. Kneale described metal as an “instant” medium - one that allowed him to design in the process of making - and this immediacy is evident in the work’s confident construction and expressive form.

Alongside his own practice, Kneale was a highly influential figure in British sculpture. The first abstract sculptor elected to the Royal Academy, he curated the landmark exhibition British Sculptors at the RA in 1972, widely regarded as the most groundbreaking survey of contemporary sculpture in Britain, as well as the Jubilee exhibition of British Sculpture in Battersea Park in 1977. He also taught at the Royal College of Art for many years, becoming Head of Sculpture in 1985 and Professor of Drawing in 1990. 'Sloc II' stands as an early testament to the inventive energy that underpinned this extraordinary career.

"(the point of making sculpture) is to try and discover in some way the meaning of your own life, to clarify in your own mind those capabilities, or abilities, to see things achieve an existence independent of yourself". Bryan Kneale

Kneale has exhibited widely both within the UK and internationally and his work can be found in many prestigious public collections including the Tate Collection; The British Museum; The Natural History Museum, London; The Arts Council of Great Britain; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, Sao Paolo, Brazil and the National Gallery of New Zealand.