Angela Conner facts for kids

Angela Conner, born in 1935, is a talented English sculptor. She creates amazing artworks and has shown them all over the world. Many of her large sculptures can be found in public places and private collections. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors (FRSS).

Angela Conner's Sculptures

Working with Different Materials

When Angela Conner first started as a sculptor, she worked with the famous artist Barbara Hepworth. Angela uses many different materials for her art. These include strong materials like marble, steel, and stone. She also uses clear materials like perspex. Many of her sculptures also include water as a key part.

Kinetic Art: Sculptures That Move

Angela Conner is well-known for her kinetic sculptures. Kinetic art is art that moves. Her sculptures use natural things like water, sun, gravity, or wind. These natural forces make the sculptures move gently. Viewers often stop to watch their calm movements.

Angela's sculptures are designed to move without electricity. They depend entirely on nature. She once said that if people disappeared, her sculptures would still keep moving. They would continue their pattern of opening and closing.

However, some of her sculptures do use electricity and are connected to water systems. But she has also created many large kinetic sculptures that truly run only on natural forces. For example, her 'Wave' sculpture in Park West Dublin is 129 feet tall. It uses wind and water to move. This might be the tallest kinetic water and wind sculpture in Europe.

'Wave' 129ft wind and water sculpture by Angela Conner, at Park West in Dublin

'Revelation' kinetic water sculpture by Angela Conner, at Chatsworth House

Rising Universe (Shelley Fountain) in Horsham, West Sussex, a kinetic water sculpture by Angela Conner, since demolished

Figurative Art: Capturing People

Conner is also famous for her figurative work. This means she creates sculptures of people. She often sculpts people from real life. She tries to show the true character of the person. She has made portraits of people who have passed away, but she prefers to work with living people. She feels it's more about instinct than just thinking.

At Chatsworth House, there are 14 bronze busts (sculptures of heads and shoulders) made by Angela Conner. These include famous people like Lucian Freud and Harold Macmillan. She also sculpted portraits of HRH the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker-Bowles.

For Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday, Angela was asked to sculpt her. This was a special request from the Knights of the Garter. Another famous work is her statue of Laurence Olivier playing Hamlet. It was made to celebrate 100 years since his birth. You can see it on the South Bank in London, near the Royal National Theatre.

Statue of Laurence Olivier, South Bank, London

Memorials and Public Art

In 1982, Angela Conner created a special fountain. It was a memorial for people who were forced to return to the USSR after World War II. These people often faced harsh treatment. The first memorial was damaged, so Angela raised money for a second one. This second memorial, called Twelve Responses to Tragedy, was dedicated in 1986. It stands in the Yalta Memorial Garden in South Kensington, London.

Conner's 12 busts atop the Twelve Responses to Tragedy memorial.

Angela's art can also be found in public collections in the United States. These include the Jewish Museum in New York and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Her sculpture 'Quartet' in Pittsburgh uses the weight of flowing water. This makes its four stainless steel shapes move in a steady rhythm.

Notable Commissions

Angela Conner has been asked to create many important sculptures. Here are some of them:

Kinetic Sculptures (Moving Art)

• 'Revelation' at Chatsworth House, England.
• Rising Universe (also known as Cosmic Cycle or the Shelley Fountain) in Horsham, England. This sculpture was taken down in 2016.
• 'Big Tipper' at Bad Driburg Spa Gardens, Germany.
• 'Libra' at Lovells, London.
• 'Wave' at Park West, Dublin, Ireland.
• 'Threshold' at Darlington Arts Centre, England.
• 'Arpeggio' at Heinz Hall Plaza, Pittsburgh, USA.
• 'Life Force' at Boughton House, England.
• 'Poise' in Chesterfield, England; Park West, Ireland; and Chattanooga, USA.
• 'Tipping Triangles' at Aston University, England.
• 'Renaissance' at Hatfield House, England.

Figurative Works (Sculptures of People)

• Queen Elizabeth II: Commissioned by the Knights of the Garter for her 80th birthday.
• Laurence Olivier Statue: Located at the Royal National Theatre in London. It was made for the 100th anniversary of his birth.
• The Queen Mother: At Cheltenham Racecourse.
• Charles de Gaulle: In Carlton Gardens, London.
• David Stirling: In Doune, Scotland, and Hereford, England.
• Elisabeth Frink: A bronze head at Chatsworth House.
• Abraham Lincoln: A bronze head at the American Museum and Gardens near Bath, Somerset.

Abraham Lincoln statue by Angela Conner at the American Museum and Gardens in Bath

• Noël Coward Statue: At Firefly Estate, Jamaica.
• Roy Strong.
• A collection of 14 bronze busts by Angela Conner at Chatsworth House.

Exhibitions and Shows

Angela Conner's work has been shown in many places around the world.

Solo Shows (Her Own Exhibitions)

• American Museum and Gardens, near Bath, in 2018.
• Galerie Piece Unique, Paris, in 2008.
• Inner Temple Gardens, London, in 2004.
• 'The Chaos Factor', Browse and Darby, London, in 1989.
• 'Sculptures for Landscape', Browse and Darby, London, in 1986.
• Hirschl Gallery, Cork St, London.
• Library and Museum of the Performing Arts, Lincoln Centre, New York, in 1971.
• The Economist Plaza, London.

Group Shows (Exhibitions with Other Artists)

• Sculpture in the Garden: 'The Visionary Landscape of Professor Sir Robert Burgess', Leicester University, in 2014.
• 'Elemental', Burghley Sculpture Garden, in 2014.
• 'A Celebration of Modern British Sculpture' at Beaux Arts Gallery, London, in 2012.
• The Jerwood Collection, Ragley Hall, in 2011.

Awards and Recognitions

Angela Conner has received many awards for her artistic achievements:

• First Prize in the Kinetic Art Organisation Award.
• Allianz Business 2 Art Award for her 'Wave' sculpture in West Park, Dublin.
• American Institute of Architects, Honor Award for Sculpture and Co-design of Plaza Garden, Heinz Hall Pittsburgh, USA, in 1985.
• British Council Award for Refurbishment to Town Centre.
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors (FRSS).
• Fellow of the Hereford College of Arts in 2013.
• Pratt Legends Award, New York, in 2016.
• She was a finalist for the 2018 Marsh Award for her 'Renaissance' fountain at Hatfield House, UK.

About Her Life

Angela Conner is married to John Bulmer, a photographer. He often takes videos and pictures of her sculptures. They live in Monnington on Wye, where they also breed and train Morgan horses.

See also

• David Stirling
• Public Monuments and Sculpture Association