Rogers line-up: Right, Grafter (A study for boys operating big machines wearing dresses), £7k… Second from right: I can never tell if it’s the head above, or the legs below that take me to the places I end up (Wrong trousers), £8k. (Photographs by me, courtesy of James Rogers © 2023 in the Solo Contemporary section of the British Art Fair with Julian Page.)
❚ ELEVEN BRONZE STATUES in unique relief glint with various coloured patinas under intense lighting at this week’s British Art Fair at Saatchi’s in London. They bear price-tags from £2,000 for a 20cm piece to £14,000 for the tallest at 60cm and all are given intriguing titles such as “A study in the possibility of a man taking so much on the chin, that his jawline blocked the feelings falling out of his mind (Rock Drill / Mandibular Man)”. At a glance they are baffling for conveying a sense of the abstract, while the artist insists they are figurative. Either way, their ripped and torn metallic contours make compelling viewing.
These sculptures express the vision of ex-Camberwell graduate James Rogers aged 30 who talks and writes earnestly about his mission in a daunting torrent of ideas. His website and on-the-job videos are fascinating. He says he is investigating the workflow between man and machine to explore figuration in the post-digital realm of 3D printing. He has also learnt the importance of combining people and stories with objects in the depiction of social networks, hoping to reveal “states of being” as yet undiscovered. Among his obsessions is the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius whose stoic philosophy can be detected in his wordy titles. Discuss.
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Rogers line-up: At left, I wish I was level headed enough to balance the both of us (twins), £6k… At centre, A study in the possibility of a man taking so much on the chin, that his jawline blocked the feelings falling out of his mind (Rock Drill / Mandibular Man), £7k. (Courtesy of James Rogers © 2023)
Rogers line-up: At right, Hive minded men share beliefs whilst termites share stomachs (He’s built like a brick sh*thouse), £14k… At centre, When everything is shining I can’t even tell you if it’s dark or not, £12k. (Courtesy of James Rogers © 2023)
➢ More about the British Art Fair 2023
JR’s own view of his booth in the top-floor Solo Contemporary section of the 2023 British Art Fair
➢ Visit the James Rogers website… Last month, I installed my largest bronze to date at 1.3m tall on the grounds of the A&A European Sculpture Park at Niemodlin Castle in Poland for permanent outdoor display… Next month, am showing new prints with Julian Page at the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair… I’ll also show a new body of work with the Centre for Print Research, Bristol, where I’ve been undertaking a residency for the past year.
➢➢ Shapers of the 80s ➣➣ 