CARVING INNER MOTION: THE SCULPTURE IN WOOD OF OLIVER CHALK

A refined landscape of canyons and natural craters animates the new corpus of wood sculpture of British artist Oliver Chalk, now exhibited at KALPA. Between inside and outside, and through overlapping textures and sculpted voids, the artist invests the surface of its works with undulations, raw areas, monochrome mandalas, and patterns that may recall the skin of a mythical dragon. As fundamental to his practice, Chalk rejects traditional notions of perfection and embraces organic ruptures and accidents. Moving from initial sketches to carving, he looks for a final aesthetic that exists at the harmonious intersection of the grain’s organic character and his own preliminary rhythmic intuitions.

“ My work and impetus to make come from a place of wanting to engage in the existence of things. To me, my process of creation is a deeply personal experience, to which the outcome is really only the residue of that process.’’

Focusing primarily on spherical and conical forms, Chalk’s textural vessels celebrate the organic lines, inherent imperfections, and unique gradients of the timber. Through meticulous work on the texture, the artist seeks to provoke a sensory response, recognising the sense of touch as a fundamental way in which we engage with our surroundings. Whether small-scale or monumental, his sculptures are carved with precision, a quality that imbues the art object with a sense of vivid dynamism.

Fascinated by green wood and its seductive curvatures, Chalk's process is rooted in a profound respect for the material, which he treats as something to be deeply celebrated. Striations, knots, and hollows thus become key features of his final work, which stands as a synthesis of the tension between the artist’s symmetrical design and the timber’s contingencies that arise during the process.

Based in Kent, Chalk works and lives in the countryside, immersed in the solitude of his studio. Like in a sanctuary detached from the chaos of the external world, the artist works in silence, looking at his practice as a vehicle for self-discovery and exploration of the complexities of the human condition. While he employs traditional woodcarving and turning tools, he expands his technique with instruments and methodologies borrowed from other art disciplines.

Sustainability is at the core of his philosophical view and art practice, as he exclusively selects local trees that have fallen due to disease or storms, ensuring his materials are responsibly sourced. He aims to highlight the unique qualities of each type of wood, transforming remnants of ash, cypress, maple, and cherry into abstract sculptural vessels.

“Paraphrasing Barbara Hepworth, a sculpture should be touched because that is how it was created. We understand the world through our hands. They are indeed my primary tools and my way of expressing myself within the world.”

Oliver Chalk (Canterbury 1988) attended the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) in Southeast England, where he pursued a multidisciplinary curriculum centered on graphic design and screen printing. This period proved fundamental, opening endless creative paths. After a career in textile design and large-scale installation, the 2020 global pandemic marked a significant turning point for the artist, who moved towards working with wood and subsequently exhibited within the UK art scene. In 2023, Chalk was awarded a scholarship from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), which enabled him to expand his research into bronze casting, creating works inspired by his original wooden sculptures.

“I have always appreciated the creative potential of failure. I would rather break something and truly understand it than play it safe. For me, the 'mistake' is a door to an entirely new perspective.”

C R E D I T S :

Photography of Oliver Chalk's creative process: Courtesy of the Artist

Quotes: Oliver Chalk

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