▶ SENDEN BLACKWOOD INSTALLED AT SCULPTURE ON THE EDGE

Senden Blackwood, 'baku' installed at Sculpture on the Edge 2012

▶ SENDEN BLACKWOOD, 'AIO'

Senden Blackwood, 'aio' 2012, carved limestone, Corten steel, 101 x 63 x 54cm

The piece feels like a return to "the object", despite it's size. While making it I really enjoyed it sitting in all the different positions and felt strongly that I didn't want to bolt it into one position. I want the purchaser to be able to change it if they wish, to keep it fresh.

Originally I had designed it to sit on one of the arcs. I liked the rounded "pebble" feeling to the convex side, contrasting with the cave/space of the interior. Obviously this presents quite a different feeling to the orientation it's in now. It was great to discover that it worked both ways.

The names I choose for sculptures are usually quite personal, this one possibly the most so. Ai is the Japanese word for love. To me, ‘aio’ definitely has a feeling of connection and of a loving relationship; two arcs opposite yet connected. The texture makes me think of warm summer holiday memories, of safety, privilege and maternal love. Like watching a sunny field of wheat through sleepy eyes on route to a summer holiday. My partner and I both have nicknames that end in o and we've had these names since we were kids. Like I said, personal.

Io is a moon orbiting jupiter. It is apparently the only planetary body in our solar system, other than earth, that has evidence of tectonic plate movement. This spoke to me in relation to the form of ‘aio’, especially when it is positioned concave side up. Sharp rising plates pushed high by huge forces.

- Senden Blackwood, 2012

'aio' is currently on view at the Gallery as part of  Sculpture 2012.

▶ PETER TILLEY + SENDEN BLACKWOOD AT SXS 2011

Left: Peter Tilley, 'domestic bliss' 2011, installed at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2011. Photo Clyde Yee
Right: Senden Blackwood, 'ioka' 2011, installed at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2011.

▶ MARC STANDING + SENDEN BLACKWOOD, CLOSING 19 NOVEMBER

A timely reminder to visit the shows by MARC STANDING and SENDEN BLACKWOOD before they close on Saturday 19 November.

Marc Standing's fourth solo show with the Gallery strongly reflects the time his has spent in Hong Kong, both in content and in palette. The canvases are suddenly bright with a wash of pinks and purples but still the singular concealed figure predominates amongst the multitudes of birds, blossoming trees and lotus seeds.

We are delighted to announce that we now represent sculptor, Senden Blackwood. In addition to the collection of beautifully carved stone sculptures in his current exhibition 'ishi', Blackwood has a significant basalt sculpture installed at 'Sculpture by the Sea' which, we are pleased to report, was sold before the show opened last week.

▶ SENDEN BLACKWOOD IN SMH + ARTWHATSON

Senden Blackwood's current solo exibhition, ishi, has been highlighted in the Sydney Morning Herald.


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He was also a feature in the November 3rd artwhatson newsletter. Congratulations Senden!

▶ SENDEN BLACKWOOD IN SXS 2011

We would like to congratulate Senden Blackwood for his pre-opening sale of 'ioka' in the 2011 Sculpture by the Sea exhibition at Bondi. Of 'ioka', Blackwood states it is "symbolic of the origins of life; a germinating seed or a nurturing womb with its umbilical connection."






Senden Blackwood, 'ioka' 2011, carved basalt, 180 x 70 x 65cm

▶ SENDEN BLACKWOOD NOW REPRESENTED BY BRENDA MAY GALLERY

Brenda May Gallery is pleased to announce that we now represent the sculptor Senden Blackwood. Blackwood's first solo exhibition ishi is now on view at the Gallery until November 19th.

The fluid forms of his sculptures coax the viewer to touch the heavily worked stone. Carved from granite, basalt and limestone, the works twist and turn in organic shapes inspired by the natural world.

Senden Blackwood, 'Fulani' 2010, carved limestone
on powder coated steel base, 80 x 60 x 60cm

▶ SENDEN BLACKWOOD: 'GOE'

Senden Blackwood, 'goe' 2011, carved basalt, corten steel, mild steel, bearings, bolt, 130 x 180 x 60cm

 To me, 'goe', is an expression of movement, of wind and water or maybe even the meeting of the two.

My workspace is on the side of a beautiful dam and daily I watch swallows dart, spin and wheel, catching their dinner or delicately - while barely disturbing the surface of the water - swoop to drink; leaving behind a tiny punctuation of ripples. I've often wished I could see the sharp lines carved by a swallow swooping through the air. I can't, so instead I try to express the gesture in basalt.

Senden Blackwood, 2011
ishi on view until 19 November

▶ MARC STANDING + SENDEN BLACKWOOD, OPENING 25 OCTOBER

New work by MARC STANDING and SENDEN BLACKWOOD will be on view starting Tuesday 25 October. Please join the Gallery for a drink to celebrate the launch of their solo exhibitions on Saturday 29 October from 4-6pm.

There is an ethereal and dreamlike quality to Marc Standing's new body of work, with it's many references to human nature and our perception of the natural world. Plants, masks, animals and cell like structures hover and drift within these dreamscapes, whilst the birds straddle between the sacred and the earthly realms and hint about what may come.

Left: Marc Standing, 'Forever Sweet' 2011, oil on canvas, 100 x 100cm
Right: Senden Blackwood, 'min' 2011, carved basalt, 33 x 22 x 26cm

Senden Blackwood strives to carve simple forms from stone; engaging lines with dynamic planes. He maintains that his inspiration comes from "the natural world; a broken seashell, leaves in all their complexities, or simply the cracks and lines of force in pavements."