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Arena for Contemporary African, African-American and Caribbean Art

Thomas J Price

Price1

Thomas J Price, lives and works in London.

About:

Thomas J Price (b. London, UK, 1981) studied at Chelsea College of Art (2001-2004) and received an MA at the Royal College of Art, Sculpture School (2004-2006). In 2009 he was featured alongside Grayson Perry, Michael Landy, Sir Anthony Caro and Cornelia Parker on the BBC 4 television documentary, Where is Modern Art Now?, presented by Gus Casely-Hayford. In 2010 he featured on BBC 4’s, How to Get A Head in Sculpture, also featuring Marc Quinn and Sir Anthony Caro. In 2010 Price was included in 10 Magazine’s Ten Sculptors You Should Meet and was an invited artist at the Royal Academy Summer Show. Price lives and works in London.

Price_Marble+Draft_6Marble and Draft Seies.

Selected shows include shows at the Royal Academy of Arts (London), Mac Birmingham (UK), Royal College of Art (London), Andipa Gallery (London) and Hales Gallery (London). His work was also included in shows in the US and Europe.

Price,+Head+13Head 13.

Thomas J Price’s work takes a variety of forms, from stop-motion animation to cast bronze sculptures that are presented in a seemingly traditional manner. These works all share a fascination in the minutiae of body language and facial expression, and in turn, their ability to suggest a state of mind. His works are all amalgams of a whole plethora of individuals, invented and constructed with the help of people observed on the street, images from magazines, press cuttings and the body parts and expressions taken from historic sculpture. These works of ‘fiction’ are then distilled and invested with tiny nuances to suggest an interior world of thought and emotional states with the intention being to capture these moments of internal absorption through observed facial gesture, posture and gait. Each of the figures is also given a geographic identity based in the areas of London where Price has lived and worked for a considerable time (Hackney, Brixton, Dalston, Deptford). Often, the works are given a street name with historic gravitas or mythic qualities (such as “Achilles Street”). This has the duel function of making the ordinary sound heroic and the fabled appear normal.

PriceInstallationView2013

Installation View, 2013.

Perhaps due to his half Jamaican, half English heritage, Price’s work has an interesting relationship with the traditions of western sculpture, which he manipulates, performing a volte-face from the position taken by many white modernists pursuing the lure of tribal sculpture. The aim being to create work that is both traditional in materiality and progressive in its cultural and conceptual significance.

PricePresenceandAbsence2014

Presence and Absence, 2014.

In 2013 during his second solo show with Hales Gallery, Price presented his first large space sculpture – Network. The work will subsequently be placed on display at the prestigious Yorkshire Sculpture Park. (text website artist).
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