Margaret Lovell Sold at Auction Prices

Sculptor

Margaret Lovell D.Litt(Hon). FRBS. RWA

With a career spanning over five decades and with no signs of slowing down, Margaret Lovell has taken deceptively simple forms of nature, and translated them into abstract works of bronze, slate, stone or granite. Using what she observes around her, the resulting sculptures take on a form, a thought, or a movement frozen in time. Highly polished surfaces contrast with saturated patina, and the finished piece is an expression of nature at its most basic element. In addition to the selection of sculptural statements culled from the vast array nature affords, Margaret’s work possesses a symmetry and rhythm that is uniquely her own.
Says Margaret, “The beauty I see around me is my inspiration, whether it comes from the unfurling of a leaf, to the sinuous glide of a fish, to the undulating movement of grass in a field; all elements become an idea which then develops into a resulting 3D form. Elements of the sea, or of the wind, or the play of contrast between shadow and light, especially the use of negative space within sculpture, all create a rich and fascinating world to explore.”
Bristol-born, with studies at the West of England College of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art in London, and scholarships to study in Florence and Greece, together with an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Leicester, Margaret’s works have been purchased for achievement awards, commissioned by companies for trophies, and are on display in numerous public and corporate collections around the world. Despite her prolific oeuvre, with a limited number per edition, her sculptures are personal yet accessible, and the appreciation for her work is reflected in the growing interest in her art. Since the late 1950’s, her award- winning sculptures have been shown extensively around the U.K., including many solo shows at diverse locations around the country, to shared collections with other prominent artists. The publication in 2009 of Margaret Lovell: Sculptor further reinforces the importance Margaret holds within the art community, and her pieces are increasingly sought after as collector and heirloom items.
Margaret’s most recent series, Omaha, was birthed from the unspoilt and tranquil surroundings of Omaha beach on New Zealand’s north island. Here, polished “pebbles” of bronze rest on a dark beach of granite and the triangle of a bronze sail breaks the horizon of a flat calm slate “sea”. Her approach to creating a new sculpture is instantly a hands-on one; the finished design is her mind only and the sculpture takes shape through rhythmic layering, sanding, or polishing much like the rhythm of the nature she is capturing in her sculpture.
Margaret’s latest commission was for two 1.2 m high bronze sculptures for a super- yacht.
By combining her love of landscape, or the intricacies of anatomy, down to fundamental shapes and movement, Margaret Lovell’s sculptures are visually organic, with a purity of design captured through an artistic expression that is distinct and complex as the nature it represents.