LONDON.- Royal Academician Conrad Shawcross has made a new work which will be sold for the benefit of the charity War Child’s work supporting children affected by the crisis in Ukraine and conflict zones around the world. The print, Study for the Patterns of Absence; Ukraine 11, will be available to purchase for the duration of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2022 from 21 June – 21 August 2022.
Conrad worked with War Child in Bosnia in 1997 when he was 18, painting murals in music rooms, and so has a history of collaboration with this important charity.
Conrad Shawcross said: “In 1997, at the age of 18, I travelled to a war-torn Sarajevo to work for the charity War Child. Seeing the catastrophic effect of war on people and children has marked me forever, and Europe faces a similar if not worse crisis now. I hope this print can serve as a symbol of protest against what is unfolding and that the money raised will help War Child to rebuild the lives of children in the region. This is a time-based edition so please buy one and spread the word to everyone you know!”
The Studies for the Patterns of Absence are a series of handmade ink block prints in which the artist explores theories of tone, scale, colour and optics. This time-based edition has been made in response to the crisis in Ukraine and contributes to the current theme of adopting the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag as a form of protest and sign of solidarity with the embattled nation. Adding to the sense of concern, these two optimistic colours are partially obscured or obliterated by a haze of overlaid black dots.
Conrad Shawcross, RA, was born in 1977 in London, where he currently lives and works. Recent major exhibitions and commission include Escalations, a solo exhibition at Chateau La Coste Provence, France, where the artist’s monumental new commission Schism (Château La Coste) will be on view; Pioneering Places, a major public artwork for Ramsgate Royal Harbour, UK; and an exhibition to mark the 800th anniversary of Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire.
Major commissions and works in the public realm include: Bicameral, a permanent commission for Chelsea Barracks, curated by Futurecity, London (2019); Exploded Paradigm, permanent commission, Comcast Technology Centre, Philadelphia, USA (2018); The Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue), HS1 Terrace Wires commission in conjunction with The Royal Academy, St Pancras International station, London (on view during 2017); The Optic Cloak, permanent commission for The Energy Centre Greenwich Peninsula, London (2016); Paradigm, permanent commission for the Francis Crick Institute, London (2016); Three Perpetual Chords, permanent commission for Dulwich Park, London, curated and managed by the Contemporary Art Society for Southwark Council (2016). Shawcross will create a major new public artwork for the Crossrail Elizabeth line at Liverpool Street, London. Titled Manifold, the bronze sculpture will be positioned outside the Moorgate entrance of the new station when it opens in 2022. He will also unveil a large public commission in Chiswick in September 2022, titled The Cloths of Heaven and dedicated to WB Yeats.
The artist has had solo exhibitions at international institutions including: Yorkshire Sculpture International, Dean Clough, Halifax, UK (2019); Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, USA (2018); the New Art Centre, Roche Court, East Winterslow, Salisbury, UK (2015); ARTMIA Foundation, Beijing, China (2014); MUDAM, Luxembourg (2012); Science Museum, London, UK (2011– 2012); Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK (2011); and Oxford Science Park, UK (2010).
His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally as part of group exhibitions including Super Nature, Galerie Isa, Mumbai, India (2022), To The Edge Of Time, KU Leuven Bibliotheken, Leuven, Belgium (2021), Systems & Intervals, Louisa Guinness Gallery, London (2021), Art of Innovation: From Enlightenment to Dark Matter, Science Museum, London, UK (2019); Sculpture at Pilane, Pilane Sculpture Park, Klövedal, Sweden (2019); the Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London UK (2014, 2016–2019); Frieze Sculpture, London, UK (2018); Socle du Monde Biennale 2017, HEART Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark (2017); Into the Unknown: A Journey Through Science Fiction, Barbican, London, UK (2017); The Universe and Art, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan (2016–2017), travelling to ArtScience Museum, Singapore (2017); GLOBALE: Exo-Evolution, ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany (2015–2016); Art Out Loud, Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, UK (2015); Proportio, Palazzo Fortuny, Venice, Italy (2015); Light Show, Hayward Gallery, London, UK (2013), travelling to Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand (2014–2015), MCA Sydney, Australia (2015), Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE (2015) and Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece (2016); Glasstress, the 55th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2013); Journeys: Conrad Shawcross and Tavares Strachan, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, USA (2011); and 4th edition international sculpture exhibition, LUSTWARANDE ’11 - RAW, Park De Oude Warande, Tilburg, the Netherlands (2011).
His works are held in permanent collections including: Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea; British Council, UK; The Hiscox Collection, UK; MUDAM Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg; Museum of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; MONA Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania; Norman Foster Foundation, Madrid, Spain; The Ovitz Family Collection, California, USA; RISD Museum, Providence, Rhode Island, USA; The David Ross Collection, UK; The Saatchi Gallery, London, UK; Tate, UK; Vervoordt Collection, Antwerp, Belgium; Zabludowicz Collection, London, UK; The Extraordinary Collection, Coutts, UK; Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing, China.
