EXHIBITING at SOHO GALLERIES & ART PARK EXHIBITIONS SYDNEY
John Gardner not only absorbs the
culture in which he lives, but also investigates other cultures and
successfully combines aspects of these disparate ideas. He uses his images for resolution between
cultures, ideas, and gender. He combines
iconic representations of the natural world with shapes and symbols from
ancient and modernist concepts and philosophies. While his aesthetic is modern, he lends
qualities of the poetic and mythical to his geometric, monumental forms. He draws on the art of ancient
civilizations, totemic indigenous ritual art forms, and contemporary
artforms. The technical combination of
bronze, stainless steel, glass, aluminium, granite and sandstone constantly
refer the viewer to archetypal references and impart an aesthetic that has
universal appeal.
The sculptor undertakes the
creative process knowing all connections between idea and object must be made
and remade throughout the work. Furthermore, John Gardner is aware that
while the work comes into being at a certain point in linear time, perceptions
of the work will subsequently evolve or be modified as circumstances change.
Gardner uses the language of form,
space and surface in making silent works that speak loudly as comprehensive
ideas. Harmony, balance and rhythm. Gardner's work explores these concerns
through a highly organised visual language.
On another level, the viewer is encouraged to look outside the physical
representation of the object into a metaphysical realm where other meanings are
adduced.