Red Spot Gallery - Rotorua Art Gallery supporting local artists
Nic Clegg
A sculptor new to New Zealand. Nic arrived from Manchester, UK, Sept 2008 and has settled with his wife (who is a Kiwi) and two young children in Tauranga.
Originally working with high quality timbers making cabinets and other furniture, Nic started to introduce sculptural aspects to his work with manipulated & welded steel. 15 years ago he became far more interested in the sculptural side of his work and began to explore this avenue further. He very rarely works with timber these days and the three dimensional design side has been completely taken over by his sculptural creations.
Working primarily with steel, Nic’s main works back in the UK involved large scale sculptural commissions mainly for the corporate market. He has however created many smaller pieces for the home and is developing this work here in NZ.
Nic says, ‘Steel is a very rigid and unforgiving medium, so the challenge is to create fluidity & movement in my pieces.’ He has developed many processes to manipulate the steel and quite often will work with a welding torch in one hand & oxy propane in the other. He is currently working on a technique of carving with a plasma cutter.
He takes inspiration for his work from many sources from the human form to architecture and machinery. His work is very stylised and quite often plays on the real object to create what is almost a caricature. His view for the farcical is highlighted in his boats which although intricate in detail have a ‘Heath Robison’ feel to them.
Nic’s primary aim in his work is to entertain. “I like people to smile when they look at my work”. It is this ‘fun’ approach to fine art that makes Nic’s work so appealing.
He currently works from his studio at ‘The Laundromat Art Project Space’ (www.laps.net.nz) in Tauranga.