George Rae

George Rae employs traditional materials to make contemporary works that bemoan the loss of tradition in contemporary art.

Rae will recreate his degree show sculpture Quercus Robur, which was a life-size oak tree, made of clay. As Rae states, this piece ‘was originally intended as a site specific work for the new Granary Building, Kings Cross. Quercus Robur was built to contrast the stark modernity of its setting. It stands as a sculptural paean to craft, a statement of my belief that craft still has a place in the contemporary institution’. Made of unfired terracotta, the work has an inherent life span. As time passes fault lines will appear, cracking the piece throughout its structure. This is on one hand a metaphor of the craftsmanship in contemporary art, and on the other a conventional memento mori – a reminder that all organic material has a finite lifespan.  

Exhibited at Griffin Gallery in Young Gods in January 2013.

BORN

1990 London, UK

EDUCATION

BA Fine Art – Byam Shaw Central St Martins College of Art & Design, 2012

(Last updated 12.11.2014)