Beth French

My sculptural work explores the emotional relationship we have with our body and how we represent ourselves. Drawing from a lifetime of health struggles and 25years as a physical therapist, I remove the obvious emotive expressors- the face and hands- and let the body speak for itself. Posture says so much- and resonates with the viewer in their own journey. I often leave my work loose, leaving maker’s marks of thumb print or finger swipe to evoke an approachable work that allows for accessibility between make and viewer- scars, tattoos, lives lived and stories told.

I enjoy exploring surfaces that mimic age- the timelessness of figurative sculpture combined with raw clay, slip and oxides as well as using organic combustibles in a saggar to create subtle yet complex surfaces that add depth and life to the forms. My work seeks to invite an intimate relationship that changes over time with the viewer and is designed to be tactile, affording the bond of form and substance to be a personal connection.