Acclaimed artist's work goes on show

05/01/03

Acclaimed artist's work goes on show

Kingston University's Stanley Picker Gallery is hosting a major exhibition showcasing the work of John Aiken, the director of London's Slade School of Fine Art.

An internationally-recognised sculptor, Aiken has exhibited regularly in his native Northern Ireland and abroad. However, until now English gallery-goers have had few opportunities to view his work first hand. Called Form and Enigma, the exhibition includes drawings, lithographs and three-dimensional sculpture.

Photographs of the artist's biggest public commissions are also on display.
Although Aiken is a traditional sculptor as far as form and material are concerned, his work has a contemporary appearance, combining precision-cut geometric forms and surfaces with rough, unworked edges.

Curator Charles Ryder said it was a tremendous honour for the Stanley Picker Gallery to have the opportunity to present Aiken's work to a wider audience. "The University is proud to have secured this rare opportunity for local people to admire this great artist's accomplishments," Mr Ryder said.
"John Aiken continues to have a major impact in the field of contemporary sculpture and has a growing reputation in other countries."

The exhibition runs at the Stanley Picker Gallery at Middle Mill, Knights Park, until March 14.

Kingston University
January 2003