Angela Conner facts for kids

Angela Conner (born in 1935) is a British sculptor. She creates amazing artworks in her London studio. Her large sculptures can be found all over the world. Many are in public places and private collections. She has shown her art in many countries.

Sculpture

When Angela Conner was starting her career, she worked with the famous sculptor Barbara Hepworth. Angela uses many different materials for her art. These include marble, steel, stone, and a clear plastic called perspex.

Many of her sculptures use water as a key part of their design. Angela Conner is known for her kinetic sculptures. Kinetic art is art that moves. Her moving sculptures use natural things like water, sun, gravity, or wind. These forces make the sculptures move gently. This movement encourages people to stop and watch.

Angela Conner has made many large kinetic sculptures. One of her most famous is 'Wave' in Park West Dublin. It is 129 feet tall. This makes it one of the tallest kinetic water and wind sculptures in Europe. Another well-known work was the Rising Universe (also called the Shelley Fountain) in Horsham.

Conner also creates realistic sculptures of people. These are often made from real-life models. She tries to show the true personality of the person. She has made sculptures of people who have passed away. But she prefers to work with living people. She feels it helps her connect with them.

Chatsworth House has a collection of 14 bronze busts by Angela Conner. These are sculptures of heads and shoulders. They include portraits of famous people like Lucian Freud and Harold Macmillan. She also sculpted HRH the Prince of Wales and Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen's sculpture was made for her 80th birthday.

Angela Conner also created a statue of the famous actor Laurence Olivier. He is shown playing Hamlet. This statue is on the South Bank in London. It is across from the Royal National Theatre. It was made to celebrate 100 years since his birth.

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

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

Commissions

Angela Conner has been asked to create many special artworks. Here are some of her notable commissions:

Kinetic sculptures

• 'Revelation', Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, England
• Rising Universe, also known as Cosmic Cycle or the Shelley Fountain, Horsham, West Sussex, England (removed in 2016)
• 'Big Tipper', Bad Driburg Spa Gardens, Germany
• 'Libra', Lovells, London
• 'Wave', Park West, Dublin, Ireland
• 'Threshold', Darlington Arts Centre, Darlington, County Durham, England
• 'Arpeggio', Heinz Hall Plaza, Pittsburgh, USA
• 'Life Force', Boughton House, Northamptonshire, England
• 'Poise', Chesterfield, England; Park West, Ireland; Chattanooga, USA
• 'Tipping Triangles', Aston University, Birmingham, England
• 'Renaissance', Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, England

Figurative work

• Queen Elizabeth II, commissioned by the Knights of the Garter for her 80th birthday
• Laurence Olivier Statue, National Theatre, South Bank, London
• The Queen Mother, Cheltenham Racecourse
• Charles de Gaulle, Carlton Gardens, London
• David Stirling, Doune, Scotland, and Hereford, England
• Elisabeth Frink, Bronze Head, Chatsworth House
• Abraham Lincoln, bronze head, American Museum and Gardens near Bath, Somerset
• Noël Coward Statue, at Firefly Estate, Jamaica
• Roy Strong
• A collection of 14 bronze busts at Chatsworth House

Exhibitions

Angela Conner's art has been shown in many places.

Solo shows

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

Group shows

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

Awards and honours

Angela Conner has received many awards for her sculptures:

• Kinetic Art Organisation Award 1st Prize
• Allianz Business 2 Art Award for her 'Wave' sculpture in Dublin, Ireland
• American Institute of Architects, Honor Award for Sculpture and Co-design of Plaza Garden, Heinz Hall Pittsburgh U.S.A. 1985
• British Council Award for Refurbishment to Town Centre
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors (FRSS)
• 2013 Fellow of the Hereford College of Arts
• Pratt Legends Award, New York 2016
• Shortlisted for 2018 Marsh Award for her fountain 'Renaissance' at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, UK

Personal life

Angela Conner is married to the photographer John Bulmer. He often records her sculptures with videos and photos. They live in Monnington on Wye. There, they raise and train Morgan horses.

See also

• David Stirling
• Public Monuments and Sculpture Association

Images for kids

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

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

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

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

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  Statue of Laurence Olivier, South Bank, London

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