The Academicians' Gallery
Free entry
The sculptor Michael Visocchi lives and works in an old schoolhouse in the county of Angus. The schoolhouse sits in farming country and the panorama is rich in green pasture topped by ever-changing skies. In front of his studio there is a narrow and winding road, typical of the area. Moving north it trails past fields and hedges and wooden fences. Turning east, it moves into forest, some planted and some natural. Emerging from this canopy the road winds back into farmland and past the small rounded hills that are everywhere in this landscape. As the road rolls on it turns on itself and runs back to the school-house. This journey, perhaps no more than three miles of roadway, creates a loop that encloses every aspect of local topography and geographic formation.
The sculpture Michael creates in this landscape is a subtle reflection on this natural and man-made countryside. He works in wood, metal, card, thread, paint, rope and resin to make evocative objects. His subjects reflect nature, landscape, the built environment and the human trace. And his themes explore the world of science, the character of geology and ‘place’, and the sense of human impact on habitat.
Trained at Glasgow School of Art and elected to the Royal Scottish Academy of Art at a relatively young age in May 2005, Michael has gathered a significant reputation for public and private sculpture.
Notable commissions include his memorial to the bicentenary of the transatlantic slave trade entitled The Gilt Of Cain situated in the City of London. This was made in collaboration with the poet Lemn Sissey and installed in 2008. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Jerwood Sculpture Prize in 2009. The work shown here in the Academicians Gallery explores aspects of previous practice, while extending his interest in nature, land and the landscape.
